Michael S. Owen was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone on August 16, 2010. Ambassador Owen, a native of Virginia, is a career member of the Foreign Service, with rank of Minister-Counselor.
Most recently, Ambassador Owen served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Prior to that assignment, Ambassador Owen served as consul general at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, and as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam.
Earlier in his career, he served as economic and commercial officer in Accra, Ghana, and as economic officer in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Ambassador Owen has also served in Karachi, Nouakchott, and Dublin, as well as desk officer for Rwanda and Burundi, and watch officer in the State Department’s Operations Center. He is the recipient of seven Superior Honor Awards, and the 2000 Charles E. Cobb Award for Trade Promotion.
Ambassador Owen received a bachelor of arts degree from Rice University, and a master’s in public affairs from Princeton University.
