Adrienne S. O'Neal (born 1954) is the former United States Ambassador to Cape Verde. On June 24, 2011, O'Neal was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to serve as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and was then confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on October 18, 2011. O'Neal presented her credentials to Cape Verde's president,

Jorge Carlos Fonseca Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca (; born 20 October 1950)
is a Cape Verdean politician, lawyer and u ...

, on December 9, 2011.

Early life and education

O'Neal was born in Durham, North Carolina, and raised in

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. She is a resident of

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, and formerly served as Diplomat in Residence at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 2007 to 2009. O'Neal received a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. in business administration and Spanish from Spelman College. She also earned an M.M.L. in Spanish language and literature from Middlebury College in Vermont.

Career

Since joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1983, O'Neal has since become a career member with the rank of Minister Counselor. She has previously served in Italy, Argentina, Mozambique, Brazil, Portugal and Washington, DC. She became Ambassador to Cape Verde in December, 2011, after appointment by President

, replacing Marianne M. Myles. She left her post sometime in 2014.

Early life and education

Career

References

See also