Ambassador Frankie A. Reed

Ambassador Frankie A. Reed

US Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga and Nauru

The U.S. Senate confirmed  Frankie A. Reed’s appointment as Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu on August 3rd, 2011.  Prior to that, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, responsible for relations with Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island posts (Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuata, Solomon Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and, Palau. She was responsible also for Public Diplomacy.

Previously, Ms. Reed served as Diplomat in Residence at the University of California, Berkeley, where she lectured and also had responsibility for outreach programs for universities in the Pacific Northwest.  Prior to her assignment to the University of California, Ms. Reed was the Consul General and Deputy U.S. Observer to the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France (2005-2008).  She served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Conakry Guinea (2003-2005) and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Apia, Samoa (1999-2002).

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ms. Reed’s earlier assignments include:  Deputy Director in the Office of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island Affairs, Political Section Chief in Dakar, Senegal, Political Officer in Nairobi Kenya and Yaounde Cameroon.  She also worked as a Desk Officer in the Bureaus of African Affairs and Western Hemispheric Affairs.

Ms. Reed is a member of the California Bar Association.  She has J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Howard University. She has studied at the Kogod School of Business, American University.  Prior to joining the Department of State, Ms. Reed practiced law, worked in print journalism and spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Ms. Reed is from Baltimore, Maryland.