Roberta S. Jacobson (born April 14, 1960) is an American diplomat who was the

United States Ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett beca ...

from June 2016 to May 2018. She previously served as the

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The A ...

from March 30, 2012, to May 5, 2016. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

approved her nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico on April 28, 2016. In March 2018, Jacobson announced her resignation effective May 5. ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'' reported on January 18, 2021 that Jacobson would be in charge of

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

affairs at the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

under President Joe Biden.

Early life and education

Born Roberta Ann Steinfeld, she was raised in

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, whose population at the 2010 United States census was 5,281. Her father, Julian, was an electrical engineer who was the vice president of Mid-Island Electric Supply in

Plainview, New York Plainview is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located near the North Shore of Long Island in the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 27,100. The Plainview post office has t ...

and her mother, Gloria, was a teacher and the supervisor of family and neighborhood counseling for the

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Her parents were both active in the local community, with her mother serving on the board of education as its president and her father appointed to serve on the municipality's board of adjustment. She graduated from

Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from Engle ...

.Jackson, Herb (December 7, 2015).
'Jersey girl' stuck in limbo for Mexico ambassador post
. ''

The Record (Bergen County) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and P ...

''. Retrieved December 7, 2015. "Jacobson, the former Roberta Steinfeld, grew up in Englewood Cliffs and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School. Her dad was an electrical engineer who once headed the borough Board of Adjustment, and her mom, a former teacher, was school board president at one point." She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, then spent 1982 through 1984 at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs.Biography: Roberta S. Jacobson
. ''United States Department of State''. Archived fro

on October 12, 2012. She earned her Master of Arts degree in law and diplomacy at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

in 1986.

Career

Early career

In 1988, she worked at the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Execu ...

. The next year, she joined the

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs In the United States government, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) is a part of the U.S. Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, as well as advising ...

in 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 ...

as special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, becoming executive assistant to the assistant secretary in 1992. She also served as coordinator for Cuban affairs. From 1996 to 2000, she was director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination at the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, covering issues such as civil-military relations, human rights, foreign assistance, and counter-narcotics throughout the hemisphere. From 2000 to 2002, she was deputy

chief of mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

in the United States Embassy in Peru. The

American Foreign Service Association American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 dues-paying members, American Foreign Service Association represents 28,000 active and retir ...

, which represents the interests of career diplomats, objected to her appointment because the post is normally reserved for a foreign service officer and she was a civil service employee. Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

overrode the recommendation of a State Department grievance board that recommended Jacobson be reassigned. The U.S. ambassador to Peru, John Hamilton, had chosen Jacobson over several career diplomats. He defended her selection in November 2000 saying: "She is the best manager I've come across in my 31 years in the Foreign Service". Jacobson was director of the State Department's Office of Mexican Affairs from December 2002 to June 2007. At that point, she became deputy assistant secretary for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

issues in the Bureau. She was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs from December 2010 until July 2011, with responsibility for regional political and economic issues, management and personnel, and regional security issues.

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

When

Arturo Valenzuela Arturo A. Valenzuela (born 23 January 1944) is a Chilean-American academic who was the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from November 5, 2009, until August 2011. His confirmation had been blocked by Senat ...

left the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, she became acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. U.S. 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 ...

named her assistant secretary of state and she was sworn into office on March 30, 2012. Jacobson led a U.S. delegation to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

for historic talks with the

government of Cuba Cuba has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the "one state – one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state. The present Constitution of Cuba, which was passed in a 2019 referendum, also ...

in January 2015. According to advance media reports, she was expected to press Cuba to drop travel restrictions on American diplomats and propose that Cuba and the United States establish an embassy in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and Havana respectively.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico

On November 10, 2015, the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

approved Obama's nomination of Jacobson as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico by a vote of 12–7. Opposition to her appointment came primarily from the Republicans on the committee, notably presidential candidate Senator

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

. He and six other Republican senators, along with Democratic Senator

Robert Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale (publisher), Gale Biography I ...

, raised concerns about her position on normalisation of relations between Cuba and the U.S., human rights issues, and the failed extradition of

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (; born 4 April 1957), commonly known as "El Chapo" (), is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate. He is considered to have been one of th ...

, who had escaped Mexico's highest security prison in July 2015. The

approved her appointment to be U.S. Ambassador to Mexico on April 28, 2016. She presented her credentials to Mexican President

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican politician who served as the 64th president of Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ...

on June 20, 2016. On March 1, 2018, Jacobson filed her notice of resignation, effective May 5, 2018. In November 2020, Jacobson 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

Biden administration

After Joe Biden assumed office as president, Jacobson was selected to manage the administration's response to a growing number of migrants attempting to enter the country at the

. Jacobson was scheduled to remain in her role for Biden's first 100 days in office, but announced her resignation on April 9, 2021. Jacobson now serves as Senior Advisor at

Albright Stonebridge Group Dentons Global Advisors ASG, formerly Albright Stonebridge Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, founde ...

Personal life

Jacobson is married to Jonathan Jacobson. They live with their two sons in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

. She is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Roberta S. 1960 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico Brown University alumni Dwight Morrow High School alumni People from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Politicians from New York City The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni United States Assistant Secretaries of State United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century American Jews American women ambassadors 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Members of the Inter-American Dialogue