Kara McDonald
{{Short description|American diplomat}}
{{Infobox ambassador
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Kara C. McDonald
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Kara C. McDonald, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
| alt =
| order =
| status =
| ambassador_from = United States
| country = Lithuania
| president = Joe Biden
| term_start = January 26, 2024
| term_end =
| succeeding =
| predecessor = Robert S. Gilchrist
| successor =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| spouse =
| party =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| education = University of Michigan (BA)
The Fletcher School at Tufts University (MA)
| occupation =
| profession =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Kara C. McDonald is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Lithuania since 2024. She previously served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor from 2020 to 2024.
Early life and education
McDonald was raised in Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and comparative literature from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Arts degree from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She speaks French, Romanian, and Russian.{{Cite press release |title=President Biden Announces Key Nominees |date=March 20, 2023 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/20/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-40/}} {{PD-notice}}{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2020 |title=Kara McDonald |url=https://www.state.gov/biographies/kara-mcdonald/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321114143/https://www.state.gov/biographies/kara-mcdonald/ |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |access-date=March 21, 2023}}
Career
Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, McDonald was a Presidential Management Fellow at the United States Agency for International Development. McDonald is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor. Previously, she was U.S. Consul General in Strasbourg and deputy permanent observer to the Council of Europe. She has also served as deputy chief of mission in Chișinău, Moldova, from 2015 to 2017 to serve as director of policy, planning, and coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs,{{Cite web |title=Kara McDonald {{!}} State Representative |url=https://www.afsa.org/sites/default/files/Kara%20McDonald.pdf |access-date=March 21, 2023 |website=afsa.org}} deputy special coordinator for Haiti, director for United Nations and International Operations at the National Security Council, special assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and the Czech Republic desk. McDonald was also an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2009 to 2010. Her other overseas assignments include U.S. embassies in Bucharest and Port-au-Prince. From January 2021 to April 2022, she was designated to serve concurrently as the senior official to monitor and combat antisemitism for the Office of the Special Envoy. From 2020 to 2024, she served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor.
= United States ambassador to Lithuania =
On March 20, 2023, Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate McDonald to serve as the next United States ambassador to Lithuania. On March 21, 2023, her nomination was sent to the Senate.{{Cite press release |title=Nominations Sent to the Senate |date=March 21, 2023 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/21/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-101/}} Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 21, 2023. The committee favorably reported her nomination on July 13, 2023. On November 29, 2023, her nomination was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote.{{cite web |title=PN444 — Kara C. McDonald — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/118th-congress/444 |access-date=November 29, 2023 |website=US Congress|date=29 November 2023 }} She presented her credentials to President Gitanas Nausėda on January 26, 2024.{{Cite tweet |number=1750841594721255570 |user=USEmbVilnius |title=Pleased to announce Kara C. McDonald presented her credentials to President @GitanasNauseda today. She is now officially the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania! #AmbMcDonald 👏 for another milestone in the long friendship between the 🇺🇸 & 🇱🇹! #USinLT |date=January 26, 2024 |access-date=January 26, 2024}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=Robert S. Gilchrist}}
{{s-ttl|title=United States Ambassador to Lithuania|years=2024–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{USEUambassadors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Kara C.}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century American diplomats
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Lithuania
Category:American women ambassadors
Category:The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni