The Ambassador

Ambassador Lewis Lukens (Dpt of State)

Lewis Lukens

Lewis Lukens, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is the US Ambassador to Senegal and to Guinea-Bissau.  Prior to that assignment, he served as Executive Director of the State Department's Executive Secretariat.  In that role he managed the office that provides all travel, information technology, human resource, budget, security, and contracting support to the Secretary of State and other State Department Principals.

On March 11, 2011, President Obama announced Lewis Lukens' nomination to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to the Republics of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.  He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on June 30, 2011, and sworn in by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 11, 2011.  He presented his credentials to President Abdoulaye Wade on August 11, 2011 at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, Senegal; and to President Malam Bacai Sanha on October 19, 2011, at the Presidential Palace in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

Mr. Lukens has served in a variety of positions in the State Department and White House.  He was Senior Director for Administration at the National Security Council during and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has served twice previously in the Department's Executive Secretariat, and worked as Special Assistant to the Director General of the Foreign Service.  He was US Consul General in Vancouver, BC, from 2005 - 2008.  As the senior US Government representative in Western Canada he oversaw the work of eight government agencies and managed a wide range of trade, border, national security, and public diplomacy issues.  He has also served as Executive Secretary in Baghdad, Management Counselor in Dublin, and Management Officer in Sydney.  His first two tours were in Guangzhou and Abidjan. 

Mr. Lukens is the recipient of five individual Superior Honor awards, three group Superior Honor awards, and two individual Meritorious Honor awards.  He has an AB and MPP from Princeton University.  He is married and has two daughters.