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The white house announced its intent to nominate a new ambassador to Ethiopia on Monday, June 15, 2020.
If appointed Geeta Pasi the 58-year-old Indian-American career diplomat will be the new ambassador of the US to Ethiopia.
Pasi who currently serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the Department previously served as US Ambassador to Djibouti from 2011 to 2014 and Chad from June 2016 to 2018. To both her previous ambassadorial posts she was appointed by the then-President Barack Obama.
The former financial market researcher joined the Foreign Service in 1988 and has been serving in various diplomatic assignments.
Pasi earned her B.A. from Duke University in 1984 and her M.A. from New York University in 1986. The career diplomat who has won numerous Department of State performance awards, also speaks five languages, French, German, Hindi, Romanian, and Russian.
When appointed she will be replacing the current US Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor who has been in the serving in the position since 2017. The replacement of Michael was expected as the US Ambassador position is held for a duration of three years.
Since the first diplomatic relations between the United States and Ethiopia were established in 1903 around 25 Americans have held the post of leading the US Embassy in Addis Abeba.
The United States is the largest provider of bilateral assistance in Ethiopia. Over the past 20 years, the United States’ long-term investments in Ethiopia amount to more than $13 billion in total assistance – with over $4 billion in the last five years alone.
