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
The U.S. Senate confirmed career Foreign Service member Molly Catherine Phee as President Biden’s top diplomat in Africa. Diplomat Phee was most recently the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation. Prior to this, Phee served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan from 2015-2017 under President Obama.
Honored to swear-in Ambassador Molly Phee as Assistant Secretary for African Affairs. U.S. efforts to support democracy, security, and prosperity across the continent will be driven by @AsstSecStateAF Phee’s passion, creativity, and expertise. Welcome aboard, A/S Phee! pic.twitter.com/i5L54n7d3Z
— Under Secretary Victoria Nuland (@UnderSecStateP) October 1, 2021
Delighted that Ambassador Molly Phee will be serving as @AsstSecStateAF. She is an outstanding diplomat, and we are grateful for her dedication to @StateDept and public service. I look forward to seeing her initiative and leadership in action.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 28, 2021
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 last 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. Across the continent we will reinvigorate our focus on human rights, accountability, and good governance.”
-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.
