Yovanovitch, Marie L. (Marie Louise), 1958-

Born in Montréal, Quebec on November 11, 1958, Marie Yovanovitch moved to Connecticut at the age of three and became a naturalized American citizen at the age of eighteen. A graduate of Princeton University who studied at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow after graduating, Yovanovitch later earned a master’s degree from the National Defense University, She began her career as a foreign service officer in Ottawa, followed by overseas assignments in Moscow, London and Mogadishu, and at the Department of State as Deputy Director of the Russian Desk.

Yovanovitch served as the Dean of the Language School at the Foreign Service Institute, as well as International Advisor and Deputy Commandant at the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University, where she also taught national security strategy. From 2004 to 2005, she served as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

From February 2005 until February 2008, Yovanovitch served as Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, confirmed to the position by a voice vote. Appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, she was again confirmed by a voice vote and served as Ambassador from September 2008 until June 2011. Back in Washington from 2012 to 2013, Ambassador Yovanovitch served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she was responsible for policy on European and global security issues. From August 2016 until May 2019, Yovanovitch served as Ambassador to Ukraine, confirmed by a voice vote. After complaints from allies of President Donald Trump that Yovanovitch was undermining the President's efforts to persuade Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, she was abruptly recalled to Washington.

After her ouster as Ambassador to Ukraine, Yovanovitch joined the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) as a Senior State Department Fellow in the spring of 2019. She retired from the Department of State as a Career Minister in January 2020.