Tamlyn, Lucy, 1955-

Lucy Tamlyn (born 1955) is a U.S. diplomat and the current United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic. President Donald Trump nominated her in July 2018 and she was confirmed in January 2019.

Tamlyn is from New York City. Her father, Thomas Tamlyn, was a cardiologist who served in 1969 on the SS Hope, a ship that brought medical support to underserved areas. Her mother, Ann Donaldson Tamlyn, later ran unsuccessfully for Congress from Maryland.

Tamlyn was an undergraduate at St. John’s College Annapolis, Maryland. She graduated in 1978. Tamlyn then completed her M.A. at Columbia University's School of International Affairs in 1980.

Tamlyn joined the Foreign Service in 1982. In her early career she held assignments in Austria, Colombia, and Mozambique. She served as a political officer in Brazil and represented the U.S. to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. From 2005 to 2008 Tamlyn served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in N’Djamena, Chad. She then became Provincial Reconstruction Team Leader in Erbil, Iraq from 2008 to 2009. She served in Lisbon, Portugal, as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy.

Just prior to her nomination as Ambassador to Benin, Tamlyn was Director of the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. She was nominated by President Obama on March 24, 2015 and confirmed by the Senate October 8, 2015. Her term began October 13, 2015 and she presented her credentials on November 8, 2015. In July 2018, President Donald Trump nominated her to be the next United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic. She left her post as Ambassador to Benin in October 2018. She was later confirmed by voice vote on January 2, 2019 and sworn in as Ambassador to the Central African Republic on January 11, 2019. Tamlyn presented her credentials to President Faustin-Archange Touadéra on February 6, 2019.

Tamlyn is married to author Jorge M. Serpa of Portugal, and they have two children. In addition to English, she speaks French and Portuguese.