Michele Jeanne Sison (born May 27, 1959) is an American diplomat and career member of the

Senior Foreign Service The Senior Foreign Service (SFS) comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades ...

who had served as the assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs. She has previously served in various other diplomatic posts around the world on behalf of the United States, including ambassador to Haiti. Sison holds the personal rank of career ambassador.

Early life and education

Sison earned her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in political science from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, and also studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Career

Sison's overseas assignments have included service as deputy chief of mission and

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (1999–2002) and as consul general at the U.S. consulate general in Chennai, India (1996–1999). She also served at the U.S. missions in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (1993–1996);

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

(1991–1993); Cotonou, Benin (1988–1991); Lomé, Togo (1984–1988); and Port-au-Prince, Haiti (1982–1984), as well as in Washington. Ambassador Sison is the recipient of numerous U.S. Department of State awards for exceptional service. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as United States ambassador to the United Arab Emirates on May 6, 2004, and sworn in by Secretary of State

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

on July 12, 2004. In 2005, during her time as ambassador to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, she was named 'Abolitionist Ambassador of the Year' for her work with the U.A.E government in rescuing victims of child trafficking. Prior to her appointment to the UAE, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs, charged with providing broad policy oversight of U.S. relations with

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

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 ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. She also had a short stint as the U.S. Chargés d'affaires a.i. in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, before her Senate confirmation as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon on August 1, 2008. Sison's assignment in Lebanon ended in August 2010. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 29, 2012, as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. On July 8, 2014, 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 ...

announced the nomination of Sison as Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, and Deputy Representative of the United States in the

Security Council of the United Nations The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

. She was confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on November 19, 2014.

Ambassador to Haiti

On November 2, 2017, she was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to serve as the United States Ambassador to Haiti, having been nominated by U.S. President

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 ...

. Among the major issues facing her in her role were navigating a response by the United Nations to victims of a

cholera epidemic Seven cholera pandemics have occurred in the past 200 years, with the first pandemic originating in India in 1817. The seventh cholera pandemic is officially a current pandemic and has been ongoing since 1961, according to a World Health Organi ...

the organization started in October 2010. She was also confronted with the U.S. government's decision on whether or not to extend Temporary Protected Status to Haitian immigrants who were in the U.S. at the time of the massive earthquake in Port-au-Prince in January 2010. In 2018, Sison was promoted to the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest personal rank in the Senior Foreign Service, given for exceptionally distinguished service over a prolonged period of time. Sison left the post on October 9, 2021, and was succeeded by Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Kenneth H. Merten.

Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs

On April 15, 2021, Sison was nominated by

President Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and re ...

to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. Sison's nomination was reported favorably on June 24, 2021, by the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. She was confirmed to the position by the

on December 18, 2021, by voice vote, and she was sworn in on December 21, 2021.

Personal life

Sison speaks fluent French and basic

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. She has two daughters. Her father is originally from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

References

External links

Michele J. Sison Biography at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti
* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sison, Michele J. 1959 births 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American women civil servants Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti Ambassadors of the United States to Lebanon Ambassadors of the United States to the United Arab Emirates American people of Filipino descent American women ambassadors Consuls for the United States Biden administration personnel Living people People from Arlington County, Virginia Permanent representatives of the United States to the United Nations First Trump administration cabinet members Wellesley College alumni United States career ambassadors United States Foreign Service personnel