Karen Sasahara

Ambassador
Karen Sasahara
United States Ambassador to Kuwait
In office
November 26, 2023 – July 9, 2025[1]
PresidentJoe Biden
Donald Trump
Preceded byAlina Romanowski
Chargé d'Affaires to Jordan
In office
March 14, 2019 – August 30, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byHenry T. Wooster
(Chargé d'Affaires)
Succeeded byMike Hankey
(Chargé d'Affaires)
United States Consul General in Jerusalem
In office
August 2018 – March 2019
Preceded byDonald Blome
Succeeded byPosition terminated
Personal details
BornKaren Hideko Sasahara
1959 (age 66–67)
SpouseMichael Ratney
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (BA)
George Washington University (MA)

Karen Hideko Sasahara (born 1959) is an American diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Kuwait 2023–2025. She previously served as consul general in Jerusalem until the 2019 relocation of the US embassy in Israel, and subsequent closure of the consulate.

Early life and education

Sasahara was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts[2] and raised in the Boston area. She is the daughter of Dr. Arthur A. Sasahara.

Sasahara holds an MA in Near East studies from the George Washington University, and a BA in international relations from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.[3][4]

Career

Sasahara is a member of the Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of Minister Counselor. As consul general, she was the point person for the State Department with the Palestinian Authority.[3] Following the closure of the US Consul in Jerusalem, Sasahara's next post was as chargé d'affaires, a.i. at the U.S. embassy in Amman in March, 2019.[3]

In 1989 she served as political and economic officer at the US consulate general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[5]

Ambassador Nomination to Kuwait

On August 19, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Sasahara to be the next US Ambassador to Kuwait.[4] On September 6, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[6] Sasahara's nomination expired at the end of the year and was returned to President Biden on January 3, 2023.[7]

President Biden renominated Sasahara the following day. Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 15, 2023. The committee reported her nomination favorably on April 27, 2023. Her nomination was confirmed by the full Senate via voice vote on October 16, 2023.[8]

Personal life

Sasahara is married to fellow diplomat Michael Ratney.[2] She speaks Arabic, Spanish, French, and Russian.[4]

References

  1. ↑ https://x.com/USAmbKuwait/status/1942936193248747652?t=z46KBke7Z5OmiwD8jWhWIg&s=19
  2. 1 2 "WEDDINGS; Karen Sasahara, Michael Ratney". The New York Times. July 19, 1998. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Estrin, Daniel (March 1, 2019). "As U.S. Jerusalem Consulate Shuts, Pro-Israel Envoy Takes On Palestinian Relations". NPR. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. ↑ Information on p. 41
  6. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "PN2490 - Nomination of Karen Sasahara for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "PN42 — Karen Sasahara — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024)". US Congress. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.