President Joe Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Key Role for the Department of State

Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lisa Peterson to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Burundi.

Lisa Peterson, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Burundi

Lisa Peterson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor, currently serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Previously, Peterson served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Eswatini. Prior to that, she served as the Director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and before that as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Among her earlier assignments, Peterson served as the Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, as the Deputy Director of the Department's Office of Central African Affairs, and as a Political Officer for the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya; Lusaka, Zambia; and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. She was also an Analyst in the Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate General in Durban, South Africa, and Vice Consul/Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bangui, Central African Republic.

Raised in upstate New York, Peterson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester.