Kenneth H. Merten (born 1961) is an American diplomat who has served Haiti Special Coordinator since 2015, as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs In the United States government, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) is a part of the U.S. Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, as well as advising ...

. He acted as Ambassador to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

from 2012 to 2015 and U.S. Ambassador to Haiti from 2009 to 2012. In December 2022, he was confirmed to serve as the

United States ambassador to Bulgaria The United States Ambassador to Bulgaria ( bg, Посланик на САЩ в България) is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States to Bulgaria. Ambassadors Diplomatic Agent Envoy Extraordinary and M ...

Early life

Merten was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri, but moved to

Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,110 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community in the Akron metropolitan statistical area and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area, t ...

when he was twelve, and considers Hudson his home. He attended Hudson Junior High School and the

Walsh Jesuit High School Walsh Jesuit High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, approximately 30 miles south of Cleveland. Walsh Jesuit is reputed to be one of Ohio's leading college preparatory s ...

and credits a history teacher named Mark Massa with being influential in his choice of career. Merten graduated from Walsh Jesuit in 1979, and went to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

, where he graduated from in 1983 with a BA in diplomacy and foreign affairs. He has also studied at

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II o ...

, the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univers ...

and the American University.

Diplomatic career

Merten joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carry ...

in 1987. He holds the rank of Career Minister. Since then, he has served both at Department of State facilities in Washington, DC and international assignments. Prior to his appointment as ambassador to Haiti, his international experience consisted of assignments in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. He also served in Haiti as vice consul and economic counselor between 1988 and 1990 and between 1998 and 2000 respectively. In 2009, he was appointed to the position of ambassador to Haiti, and began his duties as such on 24 August 2009. In 2012, he was appointed to the position of ambassador to Croatia and began his duties as such on 30 October 2012. As Haiti Special Coordinator during the 2015-2016 Haitian presidential election Merten traveled to Haiti and spoke about an upcoming verification commission report on fraud in the election, saying "We hope it is very, very quick and does not change the results of the election" in April 2016. He was joined by other U.S. officials pushing for quickly accepted elections.

Nomination as U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria

On June 8, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Merten to serve as the United States ambassador to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. On November 29, 2022, hearings on his nomination were held before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

. On December 7, 2022, the committee favorably reported the nomination to the Senate. On December 13, 2022, his nomination was confirmed in the Senate by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. He is awaiting his swearing-in and presentation of credentials.

Honors and awards

In July 2012, President

Michel Martelly Michel Joseph Martelly (; born 12 February 1961) is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. He was sanctioned by the Canadian Government for his involvement in human rights violations ...

of Haiti awarded Merten with the

National Order of Honour and Merit The National Order of Honour and Merit (french: Ordre National Honneur et Mérite) is the highest honour of merit awarded by the President of the Haiti, Republic of Haiti. The Order was instituted on 28 May 1926 and is awarded in five grades to ...

to the rank of Grand Cross for his diplomatic excellence and all his works done for Haiti.

Personal life

Merten is married to Susan Greenman Merten, with whom he has had two daughters, Caryl and Elisabeth. He speaks Haitian Creole, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

References

External links

Ambassador biography
Embassy of the United States Port-au-Prince Haiti * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Merten, Kenneth H. Ambassadors of the United States to Croatia Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti 1961 births Living people Miami University alumni People from St. Louis United States Special Envoys United States Foreign Service personnel 21st-century American diplomats