Joyce Anne Barr (born 1951) American

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and a career

foreign service officer A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, cons ...

in 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 ...

. She served as an Assistant Secretary of State for Administration and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer. Prior to that, Barr was the International Affairs Advisor at the

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University (Washington, D.C.), National Defens ...

. Her previous assignment was as the Executive Director for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) within the State Department. She served as the ambassador to Namibia from 2004 to 2007.

Early life

Barr was born in 1951, in

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Education

Barr received a B.A. in Business Administration from

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a Private university, private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congreg ...

, graduating magna cum laude. She also received a M.P.A. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and an M.S. in National Resource Strategy from the

Career

Barr served as a career diplomat, having joined the

in 1979. She has held assignments in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(1980),

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

(1982),

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

(1985),

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

(1989),

Ashgabat Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

(1998), and

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, where she was Counselor for Management Affairs. Barr has also had domestic assignments in Washington, D.C, where she worked for the Department of State's Bureau of Personnel,

Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administr ...

, and the Bureau of International Organizations in the

UN Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

and the

World Tourism Organization The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

. Barr was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Namibia by President Bush and was confirmed by the

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

. Ambassador Barr began her appointment on October 4, 2004. Barr has also participated in the Department of State Domestic Assignment Program, also known as the Pearson Program. This program was begun in the 1970s, where Foreign Service officers are assigned outside the department in order to develop their knowledge of foreign affairs legislation and of public concerns. As part of this assignment, she worked with Senator

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (; March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and social scientist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he represented New York (state), New York in the ...

and Congressman

Bennie Thompson Bennie Gordon Thompson (born January 28, 1948) is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson served as the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security fro ...

. On December 17, 2011, 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 ...

confirmed Barr to be

Assistant Secretary of State for Administration The assistant secretary of state for administration is the head of the Bureau of Administration in the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary of state for administration reports to the Under Secretary of State for Management ...

. On January 26, 2017, when

Rex Tillerson Rex Tillerson is an American energy executive who served as the 69th United States secretary of state from 2017 to 2018 in the first administration of Donald Trump. From 2006 to 2016, he was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Exxon ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's nominee for

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

, visited the

United States State Department 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 o ...

, Barr, Patrick F. Kennedy, Michele Bond, and Gentry O. Smith were all simultaneously asked to resign from the department. Barr is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Joyce Anne 1951 births African-American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Namibia American women ambassadors Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Pacific Lutheran University alumni American expatriates in Kenya United States assistant secretaries of state United States Foreign Service personnel Politicians from Tacoma, Washington 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American diplomats 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women civil servants 21st-century American women civil servants