ARCHIVES: FORMER AMBASSADORS

Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto,
Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva (May 2014-January 2017)

Pamela Hamamoto was sworn in by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden as the 18th Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.

 Ambassador Hamamoto began her career working as a civil engineer in the clean energy sector, where she developed computer models to optimize hydroelectric energy generation along northern California river systems. She then worked in the telecommunications industry, providing strategic guidance related to the expansion of new products and markets during a period of rapid industry deregulation. Throughout the 1990s, Ambassador Hamamoto worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch in their New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. More recently, she has served as a valued trustee and advisor to prominent educational institutions in California.

As Chief of Mission, Ambassador Hamamoto oversaw a staff of approximately 250 diplomats and locally employed staff representing over 15 different U.S. government agencies. The United States Mission in Geneva advances U.S. policy on the frontlines of multilateral diplomacy, engaging with more than 100 international organizations and managing U.S. relations with Permanent Missions representing more than 160 different countries. U.S. Mission personnel focus daily on range of diverse issues, such as refugee and migrant crises, global health, women’s empowerment, international law, economic development, internet governance, trade, climate change and the environment, arms control and human rights.

Ambassador Hamamoto built on Geneva’s unique multi-stakeholder platform – with its talented corps of diplomats, policy makers, specialists, business leaders, research institutes, and civil society – to envision creative and tangible ways for collaboration to unleash new opportunities for women and girls.

In February 2015, U.S. Mission Geneva launched The Future She Deserves, an initiative driving collaboration and creative problem-solving in the areas of gender-based violence, adolescent girls’ health, economic empowerment, and leadership opportunities. In July 2015, Ambassador Hamamoto joined forces with the United Nations Office at Geneva and Women@TheTable to launch Geneva Gender Champions, a leadership network bringing together key decision-makers to promote gender equality. As of January 2017, more than 120 Ambassadors, heads of International Organizations and leaders of other Geneva-based institutions had signed on as Geneva Gender Champions, making specific commitments on behalf of their organizations to advance gender equality. In December 2015, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UN Women honored Ambassador Hamamoto as a GEM-TECH Global Achiever for her exceptional efforts to boost women’s empowerment through information and communication technologies.

Ambassador Hamamoto received both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Civil Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She is married and has two children.

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