Anne Elizabeth Derse (born 1954) is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

from 2006 to 2009 and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

from 2009 to 2012.

Education and personal life

Anne E. Derse completed her Bachelor of Arts in French and Linguistics from

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in 1976 and her Master of Arts in international relations from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

(SAIS) in 1981. She also graduated with distinction from the State Department's Economic and Commercial Studies program in 1989. Derse is married to fellow (now retired) foreign service officer E. Mason "Hank" Hendrickson.

Career

Derse joined the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

in 1981, and served in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

from 1981 to 1983. From 1985 to 1988 she followed her husband to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, where he served as First Secretary of the United States Embassy in Singapore there; however, he was expelled by the Singaporean government in May 1988 for his alleged involvement with opposition politicians

Francis Seow Francis Seow Tiang Siew ( zh, s=萧添寿, p=Xiāo Tiānshòu; 11 October 1928 – 21 January 2016), was a Singaporean lawyer who was Solicitor-General of Singapore and later the President of the Law Society of Singapore. Seow started his l ...

and

Patrick Seong Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, in an incident which came to be known as the " Hendrickson affair". Her most influential role came in 1999 when, as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union (USEU), she led the Mission's economic team covering U.S.-EU economic relations and served as the last U.S. Commissioner on the Tripartite Gold Commission, which adjudicated sovereign claims for

Nazi gold Much of the focus of the discussion about Nazi gold (, "stolen gold") concerns how much of it Nazi Germany transferred to overseas banks during World War II. The Nazis looted the assets of their victims (including those in concentration camps) to ...

recovered by the Allies after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In late 2004 she assisted in establishing the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, serving there as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs. Derse was the U.S. Ambassador to the

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

from July 3, 2006 to January 22, 2009. On June 4, 2009, it was announced that Derse would be appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 to

. She was confirmed by the Senate on July 24, 2009. She was sworn in on September 28, 2009, and presented her credentials on October 14, 2009. She served until July 1, 2012.

References

External links

United States Embassy in Baku: Ambassador's bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derse, Anne E. 1954 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Azerbaijan Ambassadors of the United States to Lithuania Ambassadors of the United States to Singapore Ambassadors of the United States to Trinidad and Tobago Macalester College alumni Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni People from Lakewood, Ohio United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors 21st-century American women