Elder, Christine Ann

Christine Ann Elder is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Liberia from June 2016 to March 2020.

Born in Chicago, Elder grew up in Glasgow, Kentucky, the daughter of Allen and Diane Elder. She is a graduate of Glasgow High School and received a B.A. from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. from The George Washington University.

Elder's career spanned both civil and foreign service. She served as a Trade Policy Assistant with the International Trade Administration at the United States Department of Commerce before joining the United States Department of State. Her early assignments included ones in Germany and Hungary. She served as Senior Watch Officer in the State Department's Operations Center from 2005 to 2006 and as Deputy Director for Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2006 to 2007. Between 2007 and 2010 she held roles as Strategic Planning Officer in the Bureau of International Programs and Acting Deputy Coordinator for International Information Programs.

Elder served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique from 2010 to 2013. She then served as Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs at the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, a position she had held from 2013 to 2016.

Elder was nominated to be Ambassador to Liberia by President Barack Obama on February 12, 2016 and was confirmed by the Senate May 17, 2016. She was sworn in on June 20, 2016 and she presented her credentials to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on June 23, 2016. One of the longest serving ambassadors to Liberia, Elder worked closely with both Presidents Sirleaf and Weah and their respective administrations, overseeing U.S. diplomatic engagement with Liberia and U.S. foreign assistance there. She left her post on March 21, 2020.

Elder is married to Paul Hughes, a former Foreign Service Officer, and has two step-children. She speaks German and Portuguese in addition to English.