Michael Edward Ranneberger (born 1949) is a former United States Ambassador to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Early life

Ranneberger attended

Archbishop Curley High School Archbishop Curley High School is a Roman Catholic boys' high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in the United States, within the City of Baltimore. It is affiliated with the Conventual Franciscan religious order. It is the broth ...

, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

private school in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. After graduating, he obtained a B.A. from

Towson State University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

and an M.A. in history from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Career

As Angola Desk Officer from 1981 to 1984, he worked as a member of

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs The Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs is the head of the Bureau of African Affairs, within the United States Department of State, who guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of sub-Saharan Afric ...

Chester Crocker Chester Arthur Crocker (born October 29, 1941) is an American diplomat and scholar who served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from June 9, 1981, to April 21, 1989, in the Reagan administration. Crocker, architect of the U.S. p ...

’s team, negotiating independence for

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. Ranneberger was awarded an International Affairs Fellowship from the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

for his work as a Special Assistant to

Under Secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

Michael Armacost Michael Hayden Armacost (born April 15, 1937) is a retired American diplomat and a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute. He was acting United States Secretary of State during the early days of the administration of Preside ...

from 1984 to 1985. He was the Deputy Chief of Mission in

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

from 1986 to 1989. The

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...

was also occurring during the time Ranneberger was in

. From 1989 to 1992, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Asuncion, where he was involved in supporting the post- Stroessner democratic transition. He then became Deputy Director for Central American Affairs from 1992 to 1994, and during that time he helped oversee implementation of the peace accords in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and made efforts to end the internal conflict in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. In August 1994, he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Mission in

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

. In July 1995, Ranneberger was appointed as the Coordinator of Cuban Affairs Ranneberger helped lead the Administration’s policy to promote a peaceful democratic transition in Cuba, in part by intensifying support for human rights activists and the development of independent civil society. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the Ambassador to the Republic of Mali. He served as Special Advisor on Sudan from 2002 to 2004. From 2004 to 2005, he was the Africa Bureau’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. Ranneberger served as the Senior Representative on

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

in the Bureau of African Affairs from January to August 2006. He was confirmed by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

to be the

United States Ambassador to Kenya After Kenya's independence on December 12, 1963, the United States immediately recognized the new nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The embassy in Nairobi was established December 12, 1963—Kenya’s independence day—with La ...

on June 29, 2006 and began field duties on August 11, 2006. He left his post on May 4, 2011. He was also responsible for U.S. relations with

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, though he was not the

United States Ambassador to Somalia The United States ambassador to Somalia is the most senior diplomatic representative of the United States federal government assigned to Somalia. From 2015 to 2018 the U.S. maintained a non-resident diplomatic mission in Nairobi for Somalia and i ...

as that position was vancant from 1991 to 2016. In 2019 Ranneberger's lobbying firm 'Gainful Solutions' was hired by South Sudan’s government to lobby the Trump administration to "delay and ultimately block establishment of the hybrid court", which is part of South Sudan's 2018 peace agreement. He is a member of the

Senior Foreign Service The Senior Foreign Service (SFS) comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades equ ...

with the rank of Career Minister. He is the recipient of seven

Superior Honor Award The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individ ...

s from the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

and a Presidential Meritorious Service Award.

Personal life

Ranneberger is married to Ruth Konchella, whom he met in 2006 upon his arrival in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where he is a professor at the University of South Florida, teaching courses involving Human Rights and Africa in World Affairs.

References

External links

United States Department of StateU.S. tells Kibaki,Raila to cease fire
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranneberger, Michael 1949 births Ambassadors of the United States to Kenya Living people People from Baltimore Towson University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Mali United States Foreign Service personnel