Christopher W. Murray was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 5, 2010 as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo. He presented his credentials to Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso on September 16, 2010 in Brazzaville.
Ambassador Murray served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires, a.i. at the United States Mission to the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon from 2004 to 2007. In Beirut, during the summer war of 2006, Ambassador Murray directed the evacuation of 15,000 Americans from Lebanon. Ambassador Murray also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, Algeria, from 1998 to 2000.
Ambassador Murray’s other overseas assignments include chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria; political officer at the U.S. Mission to the European Communities in Brussels, Belgium; economic officer at the U.S. consulate general in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; and consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica. He took part in the Department of State’s long-term Arabic language program in Tunis, Tunisia.
Ambassador Murray’s positions in Washington at the Department of State include Director of the Office of Nonproliferation Policy and Deputy Director for European Regional Affairs. He served in the State Department’s Office for UN Political Affairs, where he was responsible for Middle East issues. Earlier, he served as a political officer in the Office of NATO Affairs, and as country officer for Somalia.
Ambassador Murray received a B.A. in government from Lawrence University in 1975 and a J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1980. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Middle East Institute. He is the author of several articles and book chapters on U.S.-European relations.
He speaks Arabic, French and Dutch.
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