Bridget Brink

{{About|the American diplomat|the British diplomat of a similar name|Bridget Brind}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Bridget Brink

| image = Bridget A. Brink, U.S. Ambassador.jpg

| caption = Brink in 2022

| office = United States Ambassador to Ukraine

| president = Joe Biden
Donald Trump

| term_start = May 30, 2022

| term_end = April 21, 2025

| predecessor = Kristina Kvien (chargé d'affaires)

| successor = John Ginkel (chargé d'affaires)

| office1 = 9th United States Ambassador to Slovakia

| president1 = Donald Trump
Joe Biden

| term_start1 = August 20, 2019

| term_end1 = May 18, 2022

| predecessor1 = Adam H. Sterling

| successor1 = Gautam A. Rana

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1970}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| spouse = Nicholas Higgins

| children = 2

| education = Kenyon College (BA)
London School of Economics (MS)

| module = {{Listen |pos=center |embed=yes |filename=Opening Statement of Bridget A. Brink at her Confirmation Hearing to be Ambassador to Ukraine.ogg |title=Brink's voice |type=speech |description=Brink's opening statement at her confirmation hearing to be United States ambassador to Ukraine
Recorded May 10, 2022}}

| website = {{url|bridgetbrink.com/}}

}}

Bridget Ann Brink (born 1970) is an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2022 to 2025. A member of the United States Foreign Service, she previously served as the United States ambassador to Slovakia from 2019 until 2022 and has held various positions in the State Department since 1996.

In April 2022, she was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and presented her credentials to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in May 2022. Brink served in her post during the first three years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, signaling support for Ukraine in the conflict and advocating for the U.S. to provide military aid. She resigned during President Donald Trump's second term over disagreements with his administration's shift towards Russia and away from Ukraine. In June 2025, she announced her campaign for Congress in the 2026 election in Michigan's 7th congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=2025-06-18 |title=From Resignation in Protest to Campaign for Congress |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/us/politics/bridget-brink-congress.html |access-date=2025-06-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Early life and education

Brink is a native of Michigan, the daughter of John and Gwen Brink.U.S. Senate, "Statement of Bridget A. Brink Ambassador-Nominee to the Slovak Republic Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday, May 16, 2019", accessed Nov. 5, 2019, [https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/051619_Brink_Testimony.pdf] She graduated from East Grand Rapids High School in 1987.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-25 |title=East Grand Rapids native nominated as ambassador to Ukraine |url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/ukraine-crisis/east-grand-rapids-native-nominated-as-ambassador-to-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=WOODTV.com |language=en-US}} Brink earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Kenyon College and a master's in international relations and political theory from the London School of Economics (LSE).U.S. Department of State, Biography of Bridget A. Brink, accessed Nov. 5, 2019, [https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/bureau/247196.htm]

Career

After joining the United States Department of State in 1996, Brink served as a consular political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade from 1997 to 1999. She then served as a Cyprus desk officer until 2002, and as a special assistant for Europe to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until 2004. From 2005 to 2008, Brink served as political-economic chief in Tbilisi.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

From 2008 to 2009, Brink served as the deputy director for southern European affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She then joined the United States National Security Council and from 2009 to 2010, she served as director for the Aegean and South Caucasus, where she helped coordinate U.S. foreign policy and advance U.S. interests with Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. In 2011, Brink returned to Georgia as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

Brink served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 2014 until August 2015, when she became deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. In 2018, Foreign Policy reported that Brink was slated to be nominated as the US ambassador to Georgia, but the Georgian Dream government rebuffed her due to her alleged predisposition toward former Georgian President and then-opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili.{{cite news |last1=Gramer |first1=Robbie |last2=Mackinnon |first2=Amy |title=Georgia Rebuffs U.S. Ambassador Pick as Too Pro-Saakashvili |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/10/georgia-rebuffs-u-s-ambassador-pick-as-too-pro-saakashvili/ |access-date=26 April 2022 |work=Foreign Policy |date=December 10, 2018}}

=U.S. ambassador to Slovakia=

President Donald Trump nominated Brink to become the ambassador to Slovakia.Brink Bridget A. – Slovak Republic – April 2019 Certificate of Competency, May 15, 2019, [https://www.state.gov/brink-bridget-a-slovak-republic-april-2019t/] Hearings were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 16, 2019. The committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor on May 22, 2019. Brink was confirmed by the entire Senate via voice vote on May 23, 2019.{{cite web |title=PN520 — Bridget A. Brink — Department of State 116th Congress (2019-2020) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/116th-congress/520?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22brink%22%2C%22brink%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=5 |website=US Congress | date=May 23, 2019 |access-date=27 March 2022}}

Brink presented her credentials to President Zuzana Čaputová on August 20, 2019.The Slovak Spectator, "Ambassador Brink: A new chapter in our story of freedom" Sept. 12, 2019, [https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22210843/ambassador-brink-a-new-chapter-in-our-story-of-freedom.html]

=U.S. ambassador to Ukraine=

File:Secretary Blinken Meets with Ambassador Brink (52087359130).jpg in May 2022]]

File:Ambassador Brink visited Borodyanka, Ukraine, June 4, 2022 (52135974634).jpg in Borodianka in June 2022]]

In February 2022, it was reported that President Joe Biden would nominate Brink as the United States ambassador to Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-joe-biden-europe-slovakia-kyiv-131ef4205754b9f803dee2fabbc5afc2|title=Biden expected to name veteran diplomat as Ukraine envoy|date=February 2022|publisher=AP|accessdate=February 4, 2022}} On April 25, 2022, Brink was nominated to serve in that position.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-25 |title=President Biden Announces Nominee for Ambassador to Ukraine |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/25/president-biden-announces-nominee-for-ambassador-to-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=The White House |language=en-US}} Hearings took place on May 10, 2022, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.{{cite web |title=PN1999 — Bridget A. Brink — Department of State 117th Congress (2021-2022) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/1999?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22brink%22%2C%22brink%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=1 |website=US Congress |access-date=12 May 2022}} On May 18, 2022, the committee reported her favorably to the Senate floor. Her nomination process was fast-tracked and she was unanimously confirmed by the entire Senate via voice vote later that day.{{Cite web |last=Andrew Desiderio |title=Senate unanimously confirms Brink as Ukraine ambassador |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/18/senate-unanimously-confirms-brink-as-ukraine-ambassador-00033654 |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=POLITICO |date=May 18, 2022 |language=en}} She presented her credentials on May 30, 2022, and took office during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-30 |title=New US ambassador to Ukraine arrives in Kyiv in symbolic move |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/30/new-us-ambassador-ukraine-arrives-kyiv-symbolic-move-bridget-brink |access-date=2022-05-31 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

== Russian invasion of Ukraine ==

Brink has supported Ukraine throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On July 22, 2022, Brink stated that the United States would continue to "support Ukraine for as long as it takes". She made these statements after the White House announced they would send $270 million for military assistance to Ukraine.{{Cite news |title=Exclusive: U.S. Ambassador To Ukraine Says Washington Will Support Kyiv 'For As Long As It Takes' |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-us-ambassador-brink-support-kyiv/31957319.html |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en |last1=Yehoshyna |first1=Valeria }} On July 26, she met with Jonathan Markovitch, the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv.{{Cite web |title=U.S. ambassador to Ukraine meets with chief rabbi of Kyiv |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3537763-us-ambassador-to-ukraine-meets-with-chief-rabbi-of-kyiv.html |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=www.ukrinform.net |date=July 27, 2022 |language=en}} In December, it was reported that she had met with President Zelensky in person to securely coordinate his 9.5 hour visit to Washington, D.C., on December 23, 2022.{{Cite news |last1=Pager |first1=Tyler |last2=Abutaleb |first2=Yasmeen |date=2022-12-22 |title=Deep secrecy, high risk: How Zelensky's improbable D.C. visit came together |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/22/behind-zelensky-dramatic-dc-trip/ |access-date=2022-12-23}} In April 2025, Brink made a social media post about a recent missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. Afterward, Brink received a sharp rebuke from Zelensky for omitting Russia's role in the strike.{{Cite web |last=Gak |first=Mariya Knight, Max Saltman, Sophie Tanno, Kosta |date=2025-04-04 |title=Russian attack on Zelensky’s home city kills 19 people, including 9 children, one of the deadliest attacks this year |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/04/americas/ukraine-strike-zelensky-russia-latam-intl/index.html |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Brink announced her intention to step down as ambassador on April 10, 2025, effective on April 21.{{cite news |title=US ambassador to Ukraine stepping down after three years |first=Gregory |last=Svirnovskiy |work=Politico |date=April 10, 2025 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/10/us-ukraine-ambassador-resign-033340}} She reportedly chose to resign due to disagreements with the Trump administration, pressure from President Zelenskyy, and the toll of working in a war zone away from her family for nearly three years. Brink's resignation was seen as another upheaval amidst the State Department's reorientation away from Ukraine and towards Russia.{{cite news |title=Pressures from Kyiv and Washington led to US ambassador’s resignation, sources say |first1=Andrew |last1=Carey |first2=Victoria |last2=Butenko |work=CNN |date=April 12, 2025 |access-date=April 30, 2025 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/12/europe/ukraine-us-ambassador-resignation-intl-latam/index.html}}{{Cite news |title=Trump's Ukraine Policy Pressured 'the Victim,' Former Ambassador Says |first=Marc |last=Santora |work=The New York Times |date=May 16, 2025 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/ukraine-ambassador-brink-trump.html}}

=2026 congressional campaign=

{{main|2026 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan#District 7}}

On June 18, 2025, Brink announced that she would run in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in {{ushr|MI|7}}, with the goal of challenging Republican incumbent Tom Barrett in 2026.{{cite news |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Bridget Brink, former Ukrainian ambassador, challenges U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/06/18/bridget-brink-ukrainian-ambassador-tom-barrett/84256593007/ |access-date=June 18, 2025 |work=Detroit Free Press |date=June 18, 2025}}

Personal life

She is the mother of two boys, and her husband, Nicholas Higgins, also works for the U.S. Foreign Service. Brink speaks English, Russian, Serbian, Georgian and French.