Molly Catherine Phee, a career diplomat, is President Biden’s nominee to become his U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. (Credit USIP.org)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
Career Foreign Service member Molly Catherine Phee is poised to become President Biden’s top diplomat in Africa. In April, Biden announced his intent to nominate Ambassador Phee as the next Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Diplomat Phee is currently the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation. Phee most recently served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan from 2015-2017 under President Obama. Earlier in her career, Phee served as Director for Iraq at the National Security Council and as Senior Civilian Representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority to Maysan Province, Iraq. She began her career in Amman, Jordan and also worked at U.S. Embassies in Cairo, Egypt and Kuwait City, Kuwait. Ambassador Phee will have her diplomatic plate full in Africa amid multiple crisis there including the war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, surging terrorism in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, and this month’s military coup in Guinea.
“I am honored to be President Biden’s nominee for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and grateful to the President and to Secretary Blinken for their confidence. If confirmed, I will work to support President Biden’s agenda to expand the quantity and quality of our engagement with African governments, institutions such as the African Union, and, critically, African publics. To stand up to the threat of autocracy, the President has charged us with demonstrating that democracy is the best system to meet the challenges of our interconnected world. We know that the majority of Africans agree and are raising their voices to set new destinies for their countries, as we see in Nigeria. The bravery of the Sudanese people in demanding a civilian-led government is another extraordinary example. Across the continent we will reinvigorate our focus on human rights, accountability, and good governance. President Biden has declared the fight against corruption, especially the theft of public assets for private gain, to be a core national security interest. We see a direct correlation between African governments that are authoritarian and the incidence of internal conflict, displacement, and migration. Many are contending with an active threat from the Islamic State and other violent extremists like al-Shabaab in Somalia. In collaboration with regional and international partners, tailored U.S. diplomatic, development and security assistance can play a critical role to support peace and security. This imperative is driving our current intensive effort to urge all parties to the conflict in Ethiopia to implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire that puts a halt to atrocities against civilians, to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and to restore stability through political dialogue.”
-Statement of Mary Catherine Phee Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Senate Foreign Relations Committee July 20, 2021
Tibor Nagy served as previous U.S. Top Diplomat in Africa under President Trump
(Photo Credit: Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times ) U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. March 3, 2020 speaks on progress in U.S. – Africa Policy.
Tibor Nagy was the previous U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs serving in the Trump administration. In 1987, Nagy began a string of assignments as deputy chief of mission. He served first in Togo; moved to Cameroon in 1990 and to Nigeria in 1993. Nagy was first appointed an ambassador, to Guinea, in 1996. In October 1999, he was back in Ethiopia as the ambassador in Addis Ababa.
