Nancy Eileen McEldowney (born October 6, 1958) is an American academic and diplomat who served as the

national security advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

to Vice President Kamala Harris from January 20, 2021 to March 21, 2022. She was previously a career

Foreign Service officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

, served as United States ambassador to Bulgaria (2008–2009), and was director of the

Foreign Service Institute The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreig ...

from February 2013 until June 2017.

Early life and education

McEldowney was born and raised in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

. After graduating from Clearwater High School, McEldowney earned a bachelor's degree from the

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...

, as well as master's degrees from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and National Defense University. McEldowney has studied a number of languages, including French, Spanish, Russian, and Latin, and received professional training in Arabic, Azerbaijani, German, and Turkish.

Career

As director of the

, McEldowney served as the chief learning officer in the United States Department of State. Prior to her arrival at the Foreign Service Institute, McEldowney served as the interim president and senior vice president of the National Defense University from 2011 to 2013. She was also the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs from 2009 to 2011. Overseas, McEldowney served as the ambassador to Bulgaria from 2008 to 2009, as well as the deputy chief of mission in Turkey from 2005 to 2008 and in Azerbaijan from 2001 to 2004. McEldowney received the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the

chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

in 2013. She also received the Order of Stara Planina (Medal of Honor) from the President of Bulgaria in 2009. She has been the recipient of the State Department's Senior Performance Award on nine occasions and the Superior Honor Award on five occasions. She was granted the Sinclair Linguistic Award in 2001. In July 2017, McEldowney became director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at Georgetown University. In November 2020, McEldowney was named a volunteer member of the

Joe Biden presidential transition The presidential transition of Joe Biden began on November 7, 2020 and ended on January 20, 2021. Unlike previous presidential transitions, which normally take place during the roughly 10-week period between the election in the first week o ...

Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of State. On December 3, 2020, it was announced that McEldowney would serve as the national security advisor to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. She resigned in March 2022 and was succeeded by Philip Gordon.

References

External links

United States Department of State: Biography of Nancy McEldowneyAppearance on C-SPAN
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:McEldowney, Nancy Eileen 1958 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Bulgaria New College of Florida alumni School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Columbia University alumni National Defense University alumni United States National Security Council staffers American women ambassadors United States Foreign Service personnel Biden administration personnel People from Clearwater, Florida 21st-century American women