Stephanie Sullivan has been appointed as the new U.S. Ambassador to the African Union (AU) and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). She was sworn in at the U.S. Department of State headquarters, signaling a continued commitment to U.S.-Africa relations.
Ambassador Sullivan brings a rich background in diplomacy. Her previous roles include serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana from 2019 to 2022, where she worked on strengthening U.S.-Ghana relations. Before that, she was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo from 2013 to 2017. Sullivan also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central African Affairs and Security Affairs at the Bureau of African Affairs from 2017 to 2018.
Her extensive experience in Africa includes time as a consular and political officer in Cameroon and service as Chief of Operations for the Africa Region of the Peace Corps. Sullivan’s educational background includes a B.A. in English language and literature from Brown University and an M.S. in security strategy from the National Defense University at the National War College.
Ambassador Sullivan is set to arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in the coming months, where she will engage with the AU and UNECA on issues such as economic development, security, and human rights.
