Kevin Whitaker
{{short description|United States career diplomat|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox Ambassador
|name = Kevin Whitaker
|image = Ambassador Kevin Whitaker.jpg
|office = United States Ambassador to Colombia
|president = Barack Obama
Donald Trump
|term_start = May 20, 2014
|term_end = August 17, 2019
|predecessor = Michael McKinley
|successor = Philip Goldberg
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|4|28}}
|birth_place = Fort Campbell North, Kentucky, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|alma_mater = University of Virginia
}}
Kevin Whitaker (born April 28, 1957) was a United States career diplomat who is the former United States Ambassador to Colombia.{{cite web|author=Atlantic Council|title=Send-Off Reception for Ambassador Whitaker|url=http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/events/past-events/send-off-reception-for-ambassador-whitaker|website=www.atlanticcouncil.org|publisher=Atlantic Council|access-date=30 July 2014}} He was confirmed by the United States Senate{{cite web|first1=|title=Inside Congress|url=http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/2/94|work=The New York Times |access-date=30 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909044533/http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/2/94|archive-date=9 September 2014|url-status=dead}} on April 1, 2014, and sworn in on April 28, 2014.{{cite web|first1=|title=Official Confirmation by U.S. Senate|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00094|website=www.senate.gov|publisher=U.S. Senate|access-date=30 July 2014}}
Career
Kevin Whitaker was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service of the United States.{{cite web|last1=Straehley|first1=Steve|title=Ambassador to Colombia: Who Is Kevin Whitaker?|url=http://www.allgov.com/news/appointments-and-resignations/ambassador-to-colombia-who-is-kevin-whitaker-140503?news=853059|website=www.allgov.com|publisher=|access-date=30 July 2014}} Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Colombia,{{cite web|first1=|title=Kevin Whitaker, confirmado como embajador de EE. UU. en Colombia|url=http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-13763715|website=www.eltiempo.com|publisher=Casa Editorial El Tiempo|access-date=30 July 2014}}{{cite web|first1=|title=Official Nomination|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/19/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=30 July 2014}} he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South America in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.{{cite web|author=Anselma|first1=Adrian|title=Kevin Whitaker to be new US ambassador to Colombia: Reports|url=http://colombiareports.co/kevin-whitaker-to-be-new-us-ambassador-to-colombia-reports/|website=colombiareports.co|publisher=Colombia Reports|access-date=30 July 2014}}
Whitaker has served in the United Kingdom, Jamaica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, where he was Deputy Chief of Mission (2005–07). In addition, he previously served in a number of positions at the Department of State, including as coordinator of the Office of Cuban Affairs (2002–05), Deputy Executive Secretary (2007–08), and director of the office of Andean affairs (2008–11).{{cite web|title=Official Biography|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/226030.htm|website=www.state.gov|publisher=Department of State|access-date=30 July 2014}}
During his Senate confirmation hearing for the post of ambassador to Colombia, Whitaker commented on the effects of the sack of Bogotá mayor Gustavo Petro on the peace process between the Colombian government and FARC. Colombian lawmakers criticized Whitaker's comments as an intervention in Colombian internal affairs.{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303932504579254183554348984 |title=Incoming U.S. Envoy to Colombia Causes Stir |date=December 12, 2013 |first=Dan |last=Molinski |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}
In May 2014 Venezuelan officials claimed that Whitaker was personally involved in a U.S. attempt to destabilize the leftist government of President Nicolás Maduro.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuela-claims-u-s-ambassador-to-colombia-implicated-in-opposition-plot|title=Venezuela Claims U.S. Ambassador To Colombia Implicated In Opposition Plot |date=May 29, 2014 |agency=Associated Press}} The Venezuelan government, which blamed the U.S. for protests in Venezuela, cited supposed emails from opposition lawmaker María Corina Machado stating that Whitaker had offered his support to the opposition. Maduro's government gave no information on how it acquired apparently private emails, and offered no evidence to support the authenticity of the emails. In a statement, the State Department called the accusations "baseless and false" and said: "We've seen many times that the Venezuelan government tries to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States."{{cite web|last1=Neuman|first1=William|title=U.S. Alleged to Join in Plot in Venezuela|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/world/americas/us-alleged-to-join-in-plot-in-venezuela.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 29, 2014}} An expert in cybersecurity forensics said the emails used by the Venezuelan government to accuse the opposition of a plot were fake.{{cite web|last1=de Córdoba|first1=José|title=Expert Says Emails Used to Accuse Maduro Opponents of Assassination Plot Are Fake|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/expert-says-emails-used-to-accuse-maduro-opponents-of-assassination-plot-are-fake-1404171138|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 30, 2014}}
Personal
Whitaker was born in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Merritt Island High School, in Merritt Island, Florida. He received his degree in history from the University of Virginia in 1979.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{C-SPAN|9278048}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=Michael McKinley}}
{{s-ttl|title=United States Ambassador to Colombia|years=2014–2019}}
{{s-aft|after=Philip Goldberg}}
{{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Colombia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Kevin}}
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Colombia
Category:People from Christian County, Kentucky
Category:Robinson Secondary School alumni