Kelly Colleen Degnan is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, who served as the United States Ambassador to Georgia from 2020 to 2023. Prior to that she served as the Political Advisor to the Commander of United States Naval Forces Europe / United States Naval Forces Africa. Previously, she was the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) to the U.S. Mission to Italy and San Marino in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In September 2019, she was nominated to be the next

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Georgia (country), Georgia. The United States recognized Georgia's independence on December 25, 1991, and established diplomatic relations March 29, 1993. The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi was es ...

Education

Degnan graduated from the University of Southern California Law Center and practiced law in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

for several years. She sailed the Pacific Ocean for five years, working as legal counsel in the Federated States of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

and the Republic of Palau before joining the State Department. She holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

.United States Department of State
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Career

Following the departure of Ambassador John R. Phillips, Degnan became Chargé d'Affaires ad interim (the acting U.S. Ambassador) to the U.S. Mission to Italy and San Marino from January 18, 2017, until October 1, 2017, when Ambassador Lewis Eisenberg arrived. She was the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) prior to that point, starting in November 2015, and continued to serve as DCM until July 2019. Prior to the assignment in Rome, she served on the Secretary of State's staff as Deputy Executive Secretary from February 2014 to September 2015. Prior to returning to Washington, Degnan served as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Pristina in Kosovo. She moved to Embassy Kosovo from the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, where she was the Political Advisor for three years. In addition, Degnan has served overseas as the Senior Civilian Representative to Brigade Combat Team Salerno in Khost Afghanistan, as Deputy Political Counselor at the United States Embassy in Ankara Turkey, as well as in Botswana, and Pakistan since joining 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 carr ...

in 1993. She also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State and Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs during her previous tours in Washington. Ms. Degnan earned the Secretary of State's

Expeditionary Service Award The Expeditionary Service Award is an award of the United States Department of State. It is presented to employees in the Department who serve in designated field locations. Currently, the following locations have been designated expeditionary b ...

, as well as numerous other awards.

Ambassador to Georgia

In her first public speech during the appointment ceremony, Degnan called

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

a hostile neighbor to Georgia, and outlined that her mission would be dedicated to deepening relations between

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 ...

and

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

in the development of democracy, trade and security. Ambassador Degnan outlined Georgia's impressive progress in the fight against

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

, in matters of doing business and highlighted that

2020 Georgian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia (country), Georgia on 31 October and 21 November 2020 to elect the 150 members of Parliament of Georgia, Parliament. The ruling Georgian Dream, Georgian Dream party led by Prime Minister of Georgia, Pr ...

would play a very important role in the development of Georgia. In her speech, Kelly Degnan repeatedly called Georgia an important strategic partner of the United States and highlighted the participation of Georgian units in operations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Swearing-in ceremony

Ambassador Degnan's swearing-in ceremony on January 18, 2020, was in the Treaty Room on the Seventh Floor of the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC, and was attended by a number of dignitaries, including the Georgian Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador David Bakradze.

Presentation of credentials

Degnan presented her credentials to Georgian President

Salome Zourabichvili Salomé Nino Zourabichvili (born 18March 1952) is a French-born Georgian politician, former diplomat, and the fifth president of Georgia – the first female to be elected as president in the country's history. As a result of the constitutiona ...

at the Orbeliani Palace in

on January 31, 2020.

Political Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon

In September 2023, Kelly C. Degnan became the Political Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, the nation's highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council. Kelly overlapped briefly with Army General Mark Milley (ret.) and is now working closely with Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.

Personal life

Degnan speaks

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, and Georgian.

References

External links

US Department of State - Ms Degnan
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Degnan, Kelly C. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American diplomats USC Gould School of Law alumni 20th-century American diplomats Medill School of Journalism alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Italy Ambassadors of the United States to San Marino United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United States to Georgia (country) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women