Michael Kirby was sworn in as Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova on August 30, 2006. He is a career Foreign Service Consular Officer and has served in the State Department for nearly 26 years. Prior to being named Ambassador to Moldova, he served as Consul General in the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea, the State Department's largest non-immigrant visa post.
From 2001 to 2004, Ambassador Kirby served as Consul General in the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, and as Consul in Consulate General Krakow from 1988 to 1991. In addition to serving in Poland and Korea, Ambassador Kirby served as Regional Consular Officer in Consulate General Frankfurt, Germany from 1996 to 1998, assisting Consular operations in countries throughout the Former Soviet Union. Ambassador Kirby has also served in Washington, DC as Director of the Office of Intelligence Coordination in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and as a Desk Officer in the Office of Caribbean Affairs. In addition, he served in the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The experience gained by working and traveling extensively throughout the former Soviet Union has provided Ambassador Kirby with important understanding of the cultures and political climate of countries in this part of the world. During his travels, he had the opportunity to visit Moldova four times, exploring Chisinau extensively. During his first two tours as Vice Consul in Guyana and Tanzania, Ambassador Kirby worked in countries which were struggling to make use of economic assistance to develop their economies.
Ambassador Kirby considers himself privileged to have had the opportunity to introduce a large number of new Foreign Service Officers to public service while working with a diverse group of dedicated Foreign Service colleagues.
Ambassador Kirby earned a BA with honors from the University of Pennsylvania and studied at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
