McCarthy, Deborah Ann, 1955-

<p>Deborah Ann McCarthy (born 1955) is an American diplomat and former Ambassador of the United States of America to Lithuania.</p>

<p>McCarthy spent much of her youth in France and Argentina, where her father served in U.S. missions. McCarthy earned a Bachelor's in Economics at the University of Virginia in 1976. She attended Georgetown University, where she received both an M.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Foreign Service. She also has a Certificate in Airline Strategic Management from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).</p>

<p>Her early career included working for an NGO and a major New York bank.</p>

<p>She then became a career diplomat in the Foreign Service. Her early assignments included tours as Consul General in Montreal, Canada; Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua; and Economic Counselor in Paris, France and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She also served as the financial economist at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy and at the U.S. Department of Treasury as well as desk officer for Guatemala. She served as Senior Advisor for Counter Terrorism from 2004 to 2006, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. From 2008 to 2010, McCarthy served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, and from 2006 to 2008, Special Coordinator for Venezuelan Affairs. Prior to being nominated as Ambassador to Lithuania, McCarthy was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, responsible for global economic engagement and negotiations from 2010 to 2013.</p>

<p>On September 13, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated her to replace Anne Derse as U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania. After her nomination was approved, she began her ambassadorial assignment on February 5, 2013 and finished her term in July, 2016.</p>

<p>Ms. McCarthy is the recipient of the Presidential Merit Service Award, four Superior Honor Awards, and six Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards.</p>

<p>The U.S. Air Force brought two Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor tactical stealth fighter aircraft to Lithuania on April 27, 2015 for several hours. McCarthy said that the visit of the U.S. Air Force jets demonstrated the American support of NATO and "commitment to Article 5 of the Washington treaty and collective defense".</p>

<p>McCarthy speaks French, Spanish, Greek, Italian and Haitian Creole.</p>

<p>Ambassador Deborah A. McCarthy is an international security strategist with over 30 years of experience in Europe, the Western Hemisphere and the U.S. She is currently a consultant with the Transnational Strategy Group in Washington D.C. Just prior, she was the Executive Director of the Diversity and Leadership Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She moderates the American Academy of Diplomacy podcast series “The General and the Ambassador”.</p>

<p>Before joining the private sector, Ms. McCarthy was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. From 2013 to 2016, she was the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania. Previously, she was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs. Ms. McCarthy also served as Deputy Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Greece and the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua. In Washington, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Narcotics and Law Enforcement, Senior Advisor for Counter Terrorism and Special Coordinator for Venezuela. Other posting include: Consul General in Montreal, Economic Counselor U.S. Embassy Paris, Financial Economist U.S. Embassy Rome and assignments in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.</p>

<p>Ms. McCarthy received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and a joint Masters in Economics and Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She is active on social media on U.S. foreign policy and is an experienced public speaker. She is a member of the Atlantic Council, the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, the International Women’s Forum and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and on the Policy Council of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation.</p>