Perez, Carol Zelis

Carol Z. Perez, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, was appointed by the President to be Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent at the Department of State on January 30, 2019. In this capacity, she provides strategic leadership and guidance to the Secretary and Department leaders on talent management issues that affect a global workforce of over 76,000. Leading a team of 800 employees, she directs the Bureau of Global Talent Management’s mission, ensuring the Department recruits, develops, and empowers the world’s premier diplomatic team to advance U.S. foreign policy goals.

Prior to this assignment, she was the U.S. Ambassador to Chile, a position she held from September 2016 to January 2019. She previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources at the Department of State from 2015 to 2016, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2011 to 2013. Prior assignments include U.S. Consul General in Milan, Italy, from 2009 to 2011, and in Barcelona, Spain, from 2001 to 2003. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1987, Ambassador Perez has also held positions in the Office of the Under Secretary for Management, the Executive Secretariat, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She speaks Spanish and Italian.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Ambassador Perez received a B.A. from Hiram College in political science and an M.A. in health care administration from The George Washington University.