Stephanie Sanders Sullivan (; born September 27, 1958) is an American

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and the previous ambassador to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central African Affairs and Security Affairs for the Bureau of African Affairs from January 2017 to November 2018. She previously served as

United States Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Republic of the Congo. From 1885 until 1960, the republic had been under the control of France as a protectorate. In 1908, France organized French Equatorial Africa (AEF), comprising its ...

, having been nominated by President Obama on June 13, 2013, confirmed 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 ...

on August 1, 2013, and served through January 20, 2017. As of November 2022, Sullivan is the nominee to be the US Representative to the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

Early life and education

Sullivan was born Stephanie Sanders, daughter of Dr. John E. Sanders, a geologist who taught at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

and his wife, Barbara Wood Sanders, an art teacher. Sullivan attended the Hackley School. As an undergraduate, Sullivan attended Brown University, where she majored in English language and literature and received the Francis Driscoll Premium Award from the Classics Department. She also excelled as a collegiate athlete. She played soccer and lacrosse all four years, and made All-Ivy teams in ice hockey, lacrosse and soccer. She graduated with a B.A. in 1980. Sullivan later received an M.S. in security strategy from the National Defense University at the National War College.

Career

Sullivan began her career with service in The

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

, working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) from 1980 to 1983, teaching English in Mbanza Mboma. It was in the Peace Corps that she met her husband, John Sullivan, who was serving as a volunteer in Zaire. When she embarked on a career as a U.S. diplomat, Sullivan returned to Africa, serving as a consular and political officer in Cameroon from 1986 to 1988. In 1988 she began the first of several tours with the Executive Secretariat Operations Center. Other assignments included serving as Chief of Operations for the Africa Region of Peace Corps from 1994 to 96, as well as a role as Political Chief at the U.S. Embassy in

. Just before accepting the role as Ambassador, she served two years as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.

Ambassador to Ghana

Sullivan was nominated to be the next ambassador to Ghana by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

on July 9, 2018 and confirmed by the

U.S. 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 powe ...

on September 6, 2018. She presented her credentials to President

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

on January 23, 2019.

Representative to the African Union

On June 15, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Sullivan to be the next US Representative to the

. Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 29, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination on December 7, 2022. Her nomination was not further acted upon for the rest of the year and was returned to Biden on January 3, 2023. President Biden renominated her the same day. The committee favorably reported her nomination again on March 8, 2023. Her nomination is pending before the full Senate.

Personal life

Sullivan and her husband, John, have two sons.Introducing Stephanie Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Congo
YouTube, Nov 26, 2013 In addition to English, she speaks

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Spanish and

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Stephanie S 1958 births Ambassadors of the United States to the Republic of the Congo Brown University alumni Living people Obama administration personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Ghana 21st-century American diplomats American women ambassadors National Defense University alumni 21st-century American women American women diplomats