Michael A. Battle Sr. (born July 28, 1950) is an American diplomat, chaplain, and academic administrator who has served as

United States ambassador to Tanzania The present country of Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, was created upon the union of the formerly independent countries of Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar (P.R.Z.). Tanganyika became independent from the Un ...

since February 2023. He previously served as ambassador to the African Union from 2009 to 2013.

Early life and education

Battle was born in St. Louis in 1950. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, a Master of Divinity degree from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Howard University.

Career

From 1976 to 1996, Battle worked as the chaplain of

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

. From 1996 to 1998, he was the associate vice president of

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...

. From 1998 to 2003, he worked as the vice president of Chicago State University. He also served as a chaplain in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

for 20 years. In the 1990s, Battle also worked as the vice president of the American Committee on Africa (now

Africa Action Africa Action is a nonprofit organization that is based in Washington, D.C., working to change U.S.–Africa relations to promote political, economic and social justice in nations of Africa. They provide accessible information and analysis, and ...

). From 2003 to 2009, Battle was the seventh president of the

Interdenominational Theological Center The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest f ...

United States ambassador to the African Union

In 2009, Battle was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

to serve as the

United States ambassador to the African Union This is a list of United States ambassadors to the African Union. Ambassadors References External links Official websiteRepresentatives of the U.S.A. to the African Union {{African Union African Union The African Union (AU) is a ...

United States ambassador to Tanzania

In August 2021, Battle was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as United States ambassador to Tanzania. On May 24, 2022, hearings were held on his nomination before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. On June 9, 2022, the committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate. On December 13, 2022, Battle was confirmed in the Senate by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. He was sworn in on December 21, 2022, and presented his credentials to President

Samia Suluhu Hassan Samia Suluhu Hassan (born 27 January 1960) is a Tanzanian politician who has been serving since 19 March 2021 as the sixth (and first female) president of Tanzania. She is a member of the ruling social-democrat Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party ...

on February 27, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Michael 1950 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Tanzania American chaplains Chicago State University faculty Duke University alumni Hampton University people People from St. Louis Representatives of the United States to the African Union Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni Virginia State University faculty