Rena Bitter is an American diplomat who served as the
United States Ambassador to Laos
This is a list of United States ambassadors to Laos. The United States established full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1955, following its full independence from France in 1954.
On 29 December 1961, during the Laotian Civil War, President Jo ...
from 2016 to 2020 and is currently serving as
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for ...
.
Early life and education
Bitter grew up in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, one of three children of Frieda and Herb Bitter. She received her
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in 1986 as well as a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
Dedman School of Law
SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in February 1925. SMU Law School is located on the campus of its parent institution, Southern Meth ...
at
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
in 1991.
[The White House "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" May 18, 201]
accessed March 2, 2019
Career
Bitter began her career in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1994. She served on the Department of State's Executive Secretariat Staff from 2000 to 2001, and served as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of State from 2001 to 2002. After that she served in London from 2002 to 2003 as a Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellow, and then as Chief of the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit in the Consular Section there. In her next assignment, Bitter was Consular Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
from 2006 to 2009. She then returned to domestic assignments at the Department of State's Operations Center from 2009 to 2012. As a result of her role in operations, Bitter was called as a witness in the
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
of Bradley Manning (later
Chelsea Manning
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...
), a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
soldier who was subsequently convicted in July 2013 of violations of the
Espionage Act
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...
and other offenses, after disclosing to
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents.
From 2012 until she became Ambassador to Laos, Bitter served as Consul General at the
U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
She presented her credentials on November 1, 2016. Her mission terminated on January 26, 2020.
On April 21, 2021, President
Joe Biden announced Bitter as the nominee to be the
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for ...
. Her nomination was sent to 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 ...
on April 28, 2021, and confirmed 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 ...
on August 9, 2021.
Personal
Bitter speaks Spanish, Arabic and Vietnamese.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitter, Rena
Living people
Ambassadors of the United States to Laos
American women ambassadors
Obama administration personnel
Trump administration personnel
Biden administration personnel
Northwestern University alumni
Southern Methodist University alumni
United States Foreign Service personnel
United States Assistant Secretaries of State
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women
People from Dallas
Dedman School of Law alumni
American diplomats
American women diplomats