Sheila S. Gwaltney (born 1954)Sheila Gwaltney (1954–)
/ref> is a retired U.S. diplomat.

Early life and education

Gwaltney is from

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

. Gwaltney earned a

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 ...

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. Gwaltney speaks

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, Ukrainian, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Career

Gwaltney joined the Department of State in 1984. Her overseas assignments have included

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. At the Department of State in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, she has also served as Deputy Director for the Office of Russian Affairs, Special Assistant to the

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs The under secretary of state for political affairs is currently the fourth-ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the United States Secretary of State, secretary, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, deputy secre ...

, and Director of Country Affairs for Eurasia. During her Foreign Service career, Gwaltney also spent one year at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

as a National Security Affairs Fellow. She has also served as the

Deputy Chief of Mission A deputy chief of mission (DCM, in Europe the term deputy head of mission – DHoM or DHM is used instead) is the number-two diplomat assigned to an embassy or other diplomatic mission. The deputy chief of mission is usually considered the second ...

at the U.S. embassies in

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

(1999–2001),

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(2004–2007), and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(2011–2014). On August 28, 2014,

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 ...

nominated Gwaltney to be the

United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Kyrgyzstan. Until 1991 the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent Republics of the Soviet Union, SSR of the Soviet Union. Upon the breakup of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet o ...

. 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 ...

about a year later, on August 5, 2015. She retired from that post in August 2017. Gwaltney is the recipient of several Department of State

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

and

Meritorious Honor Award The Meritorious Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or indi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwaltney, Sheila 1954 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Kyrgyzstan George Washington University alumni People from Woodland, California University of California, Davis alumni 21st-century American diplomats United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors 21st-century American women