Adrienne S. O’Neal was confirmed October 18, 2011 by the U.S. Senate and attested by President Obama on October 19, 2011 as Ambassador to the Republic of Cape Verde. She presented credentials to President Jorge Carlos Fonseca on December 9, 2011. Ambassador O’Neal is a career member of the Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. Before her nomination, she served as Director of the Senior Level Division of Career Development and Assignments in the Bureau of Human Resources at the Department of State.
Previous assignments have included Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Director of the Office of Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, Principal Officer at the consulate general in Rio de Janeiro, and Deputy Press Secretary to the Director of National Drug Control Policy at the White House. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1983, Ambassador O’Neal has served overseas in other assignments in Italy, Argentina, Mozambique, and Brazil. From 2007 to 2009, Ambassador O’Neal was Diplomat in Residence at the University of Michigan.
Born in Durham, North Carolina, and a resident of Michigan, she received a B.A. in business administration and Spanish from Spelman College and an M.M.L. in Spanish language and literature from Middlebury College.
