Jeanine Jackson, a native of Wyoming, was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso on March 15, 2006. She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and recently retired as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. She has served as a diplomat in Switzerland, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Kenya, and Afghanistan.
Ms. Jackson has been a key player in activities related to creating, adapting, rebuilding and reopening different U.S. Embassies: As Post Management Officer for the Soviet Union at the time of its dissolution, she managed from Washington the establishment of U.S.Embassies in the 14 new countries left in its wake. In Hong Kong she established programs to protect the interests of all U.S. Government civilian, military, and local employees at the time of the British Colony’s reversion to Chinese sovereignty. In Kenya following the Al Qaeda bombing, she served as Supervisory General Services Officer of the largest Embassy in Africa and was key to reestablishing its operations and infrastructure. In Afghanistan in 2001, she led the team that reopened the U.S. Embassy and then served as Deputy Chief of Mission. She later returned to Kabul to serve as the Embassy’s Management Counselor. Most recently, she was the Management Coordinator responsible for reestablishing the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Prior to entering the Foreign Service, Ms. Jackson worked in Saigon as a civil service employee at the Defense Attache Office. She later served 10 years as an active duty Army officer, primarily in Germany and Korea. Ambassador Jackson earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education. Enamored of Africa’s cultures, she has traveled 10,000 miles on the African continent. Burkina Faso | AF Homepage | Released on March 21, 2006 |