American diplomat

Michele Jeanne Sison (born May 27, 1959, in Arlington, Virginia) is an American diplomat and career member of the Senior Foreign Service serving as the *istant 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 amb*ador to Haiti. Sison holds the personal rank of Career Amb*ador.

Contents

• 1 Early education and personal life
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Amb*ador to Haiti
  • 2.2 *istant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Early education and personal life

Sison earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Wellesley College, and also studied at the London School of Economics. She has two daughters. Her father is originally from the Philippines.

Career

Stephen J. Rapp, the United States Amb*ador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, and Michele J. Sison talking with E. Saravanapavan in Jaffna on 8 January 2014. Some of the bullet holes and portraits of slain staff are visible on the wall behind them.

Sison's overseas *ignments have included service as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Emb*y 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, Cameroon (1991–1993); Cotonou, Benin (1988–1991); Lomé, Togo (1984–1988); and Port-au-Prince, Haiti (1982–1984), as well as in Washington. Amb*ador 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 Amb*ador to the United Arab Emirates on May 6, 2004, and sworn in by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on July 12, 2004. Prior to her appointment to the UAE, she served as Principal Deputy *istant Secretary in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs, charged with providing broad policy oversight of U.S. relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

She also had a short stint as the U.S. Chargés d'affaires a.i. in Lebanon, before her Senate confirmation as U.S. Amb*ador to Lebanon on August 1, 2008. Sison's *ignment in Lebanon ended in August 2010.

She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 29, 2012, as U.S. Amb*ador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

On July 8, 2014, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Sison as Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of Amb*ador, and Deputy Representative of the United States in the Security Council of the United Nations. She was confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on November 19, 2014.

Amb*ador to Haiti

Sison at the United Nations with John Kerry and Samantha Power.

On November 2, 2017, she was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the United States Amb*ador to Haiti, having been nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump. Among the major issues facing her in her role were navigating a response by the United Nations to victims of a cholera epidemic 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 m*ive earthquake in Port-au-Prince in January 2010.

In 2018, Sison was promoted to the personal rank of Career Amb*ador, 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.

*istant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs

On April 15, 2021, Sison was nominated by President Biden to serve as *istant 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 Senate on December 18, 2021, by voice vote, and she was sworn in on December 21, 2021.

References

External links

• Michele J. Sison Biography at the U.S. Emb*y in Haiti
• Appearances on C-SPAN