Philip Scott Kosnett is an American diplomat. He was sworn in as the fifth U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo on November 27, 2018. Kosnett's previous assignment was as

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

ad interim at the

United States Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Kosnett was nominated in July 2018 by

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Trump to be the next

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the Republic of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. The Senate confirmed him in this position in September 2018.

Early life and education

Kosnett grew up in New Jersey and Illinois and graduated with an Artium Baccalaureus (Bachelor of Arts) in Government from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1982.

Career

Kosnett worked as a

game design Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

er during his enrollment in high school and college, primarily for the company Simulations Publications, Inc. in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. After graduating from Harvard University he worked as a teacher in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He then launched a career in the

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

, with his first assignment in Ankara, Turkey, serving as a political and consular officer. Following his initial assignment, he then served at eight different United States Missions in Europe, Asia, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and in senior leadership positions at the

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 nati ...

. The positions included Deputy Chief of Mission and

of the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik,

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. He also served in other political, political-military, and economic-commercial positions at the US Embassies in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, Kosovo,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and Japan. In Washington, Kosnett served in the State Department's bureaus of European, Counter-terrorism, Political-Military, and Intelligence & Research affairs and also worked in the 24-hour Operations Center. Before beginning his assignment in Turkey, Kosnett served as Director of the State Department Office of Southern European Affairs and was responsible for U.S. relations with Turkey,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Diplomatic Service in Turkey

In July 2016, Kosnett began working at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, initially as the Deputy Chief of Mission. He then assumed the duties of Chargé d’Affaires on October 15, 2017, after former ambassador John R. Bass finished his assignment.

United States Ambassador to Kosovo

In July 2018, Kosnett was nominated by the U.S. president to be the next ambassador to Kosovo. Kosnett succeeded

Greg Delawie Gregory Delawie (born 1957) is a United States diplomat. From mid-2015 to mid-2018, he was the US Ambassador to Kosovo. Previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Verification, Planning, and European Security in the State Department ...

, who was U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo 2015–2018. Kosnett's nomination was confirmed in September 2018 by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Post-Government Career

Since retiring from federal service in 2021, Kosnett has taken on roles in consulting, policy analysis, education, and humanitarian action.

Award

Kosnett is the recipient of over 10 Department of State awards, including the State Department Superior Honor and

Meritorious Honor Award The Meritorious 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 indiv ...

s. He was also awarded the Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Army Army Medal for Outstanding Civilian Service. He was awarded the Kosovo Order of Dr. Ibrahim Rugova by President

Vjosa Osmani Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu (born 17 May 1982) is a Kosovar Albanian jurist and politician serving as the 5th and current President of Kosovo since 4 April 2021. Born in former Yugoslavia and raised in the city then known as Titova Mitrovica, today the ...

Personal life

Kosnett is married to Alison Kosnett, an international business and development consultant. They have 2 children: Alex, an environmental planner, and Nicole, a social media producer. Kosnett speaks Turkish,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosnett, Philip S. Ambassadors of the United States to Kosovo Harvard University alumni American game designers United States Foreign Service personnel Living people 21st-century American diplomats Year of birth missing (living people)