Richard, Elizabeth Holzhall

Elizabeth Holzhall Richard is an American diplomat and former United States Ambassador to Lebanon.

Born in Hammond, Indiana as Elizabeth Mary Holzhall, Richard earned a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. She practiced admiralty law for a period after graduation before joining the Foreign Service in 1986.

Richard's early career included assignments in Ecuador, Italy, Singapore, and Thailand. From 2002 to 2003 she was Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. She then served two years as Deputy to the U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues. In 2005 she became Deputy Director of the Office of Asia, Africa, and Europe in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and a year later became Director for Counter-Narcotics, Law Enforcement, and Rule of Law Programs in Kabul, Afghanistan. From 2008 to 2010 she served in Islamabad, Pakistan and from 2010 to 2013 she was Deputy Chief of Mission in Yemen.

When tapped by President Obama for an ambassador role, Richard was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department, a role she had held since 2013. Nominated by President Barack Obama for the position of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon in February 2016, Richard's nomination was confirmed by the Senate on May 17. She presented her credentials on December 1, 2016. She left her post on February 29, 2020.

Richard is the widow of Christopher John Richard. She speaks Italian, Spanish, French and Thai in addition to English.