Pettit, Nancy Bikoff, 1953-

<p>Nancy Bikoff Pettit, a career Foreign Service officer, was nominated to be ambassador to Latvia on September 8, 2014. If she’s confirmed by the Senate, it will be her first ambassadorial post.</p>

<p>Pettit is from Patchogue, New York, where she graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1971. Her father, David, was a physician. Pettit earned her undergraduate degree at Vassar in 1975, and then went to the University of Michigan, alma mater of her mother, Muriel, and earned an M.A. in 1977.</p>

<p>After college, Pettit worked for a few years as a research assistant at the Library of Congress and at the U.S. Board for International Broadcasting.</p>

<p>She then joined the Foreign Service, with her first posting coming as an assistant in the Office of Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1983. Also posted there was her husband, James Pettit, another career State Department employee. In 1986, she was posted to the American Institute in Taiwan, which stands in for an embassy in that nation, as a consular officer.</p>

<p>Pettit returned to Washington in 1988 as a desk officer on the Soviet desk in the European Bureau of the State Department. She served in that role for two years before being made an analyst in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.</p>

<p>In 1992, Pettit got to put her knowledge of the Soviet Union to first-hand use when she was named a political officer in the embassy in Moscow. Her husband was also there, as were their two children, when a constitutional crisis swept the country. The Pettits and other embassy personnel and their families were forced to remain in an underground shelter for two days during the unrest.</p>

<p>She returned to Washington in 1994 as a desk officer in the Office of Regional Affairs’ Near East Bureau. After two years there, Pettit became an examiner in the department’s Board of Examiners. In 1998, she was named an international relations officer in the Office of Newly Independent States.</p>

<p>Pettit went overseas again in 1999 as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria. She returned to Moscow in 2003 as a narcotics officer, where she remained until 2007. In 2008, Pettit was made information officer in the embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.</p>

<p>She returned to Washington in 2010 as director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.</p>

<p>If Pettit is confirmed, for once she and her husband won’t be assigned together—he has been nominated to be ambassador to Moldova.</p>

<p>Nancy Bikoff Pettit (born 1953) is an American diplomat and served as Ambassador of the United States of America to Latvia from 2015 until July 14, 2019.</p>

<p>Pettit was born Nancy Lois Bikoff to Florence Muriel Aaron Bikoff and David M. Bikoff. Her father was a physician and clinical assistant professor of family practice at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, L.I. She grew up in Patchogue, New York and graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1971. In 2016 her hometown honored her with induction to the Patchogue-Medford Hall of Fame. Pettit earned her A.B. degree at Vassar in 1975, and then attended the University of Michigan, alma mater of her mother and father where she earned an M.A. in 1977.</p>

<p>Following her graduate studies, Pettit worked for as a research assistant at the Library of Congress and at the U.S. Board for International Broadcasting.</p>

<p>She then embarked on a career in the Foreign Service. Her first post was as an assistant in the Office of Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1983. In 1986, she was posted to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) as a consular officer. In 1988 Pettit returned to Washington to work on the Soviet desk in the European Bureau of the State Department. After two years she became an analyst in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.</p>

<p>In 1992, Pettit was named a political officer in Moscow embassy. She returned to Washington in 1994 as a desk officer in the Office of Regional Affairs’ Near East Bureau. After two years there, Pettit joined the department’s Board of Examiners. In 1998 she became an international relations officer in the Office of Newly Independent States.</p>

<p>In 1999, she was assigned as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria. She returned to Moscow from 2003 to 2007. In 2008, Pettit was made information officer in the Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine. She returned to Washington in 2010 as director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.</p>

<p>Following her nomination by President Barack Obama, Pettit was confirmed by the Senate on June 24, 2015 as the Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia. She presented her credentials to the president of Latvia on September 8, 2015. In her role as ambassador she has voiced assurances that the United States will stand by its NATO commitments, and welcomed U.S. General Philip Breedlove as he completed a tour through the Baltics and Poland, and joined her in thanking U.S. and Latvian troops for their service.</p>

<p>Pettit completed her service as U.S. Ambassador to Latvia on July 14, 2019.</p>

<p>In addition to English, Pettit speaks Russian, Ukrainian, German, and Spanish. In 1981 she married to James D. Pettit, previously U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova. The couple have two grown children.</p>