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Harriet L. Elam-Thomas was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador
to the Republic of Senegal on November 23, 1999, and
was approved as Chief of Mission to Guinea-Bissau on
June 19, 2001.
Following a four-year assignment as Cultural Attaché
at the American Embassy in Athens, she returned to Washington
as Country Affairs Officer for Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus.
Earlier U.S. assignments have included the U.S. Mission
to the United Nations, the President's Appointments
Office at the White House, and Career Counselor for
Foreign Service Personnel. Other posts abroad have included
France, Senegal, Mali, and the Ivory Coast.
In July 1994, she completed a four-year tour as Director
of the American Press and Cultural Center at the American
Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. She participated in the
Department of State's 37th Senior Seminar, the premier
global affairs leadership program in the U.S. Government.
In September 1995, Ms. Elam-Thomas began a four-year
tour as Counselor for Public Affairs at the American
Embassy in Brussels, Belgium. In September 1997, she
was called back to Washington to become the Counselor
of USIA, the most senior career Foreign Service position
in the U.S. Information Agency, and on February 1, 1999,
she gained the additional duties of Acting Deputy Director
of USIA. (USIA became part of the Department of State
on October 1, 1999.)
At the end of her Athens tour, she received the U.S.
Government's Superior Honor Award for improving U.S.-Greek
cultural relations and a similar award from the Piraeus
Cultural Association in Greece. In June 1988, Simmons
College presented her the Alumnae Achievement Award.
On June 5, 1991, she received USIA's Lois Roth Award
for Excellence in Informational and Cultural Diplomacy.
She has been a recipient of a Group Superior and Meritorious
Honor Award for her work in connection with the Persian
Gulf War; a special Achievement Award for President
Bush's 1991 visit to Turkey; and Secretary Christopher's
1993 and June 1994 visits to Turkey. In February 1993,
the Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel presented
her an award from the Turkish Educational and Cultural
Foundation for improving U.S.-Turkish cultural relations.
On May 21, 2000, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate
of Public Service from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts.
She received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Richmond
-The American International University in London on
May 10, 2001.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. Elam-Thomas holds
a B.S. in International Business from Simmons College
and an M.A. in Public Diplomacy from the Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University. She speaks
Turkish, Greek, and French.
Ambassador Elam-Thomas is married.
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Harriet
L. Elam-Thomas
