George Kent
United States Ambassador to Estonia
Assumed office
February 21, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJames D. Melville Jr.
United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
In office
September 4, 2018 – September 3, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to Ukraine
In office
2015–2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Succeeded byPamela Tremont
Personal details
EducationHarvard University (AB)
Johns Hopkins University (MA)
National Defense University (MS)

George P. Kent is an American diplomat. He is ambassador to Estonia since February 21, 2023. George Kent served as deputy assistant secretary of state for the European and Eurasian Affairs from 2018 to 2021.[1] As a United States Foreign Service officer, his early service has included assignments in the U.S. diplomatic missions to Poland, Thailand and Uzbekistan. In 2004, he was assigned to serve as deputy political counselor in Kyiv, Ukraine, and was deputy chief of mission in Kyiv from 2015 to 2018.

On October 15, 2019, Kent gave a deposition in the House impeachment inquiry of President Trump. He appeared again before the House Intelligence Committee in a public hearing alongside Ambassador Bill Taylor, the U.S. chargé d'affaires ad interim to Ukraine.[2][3]

Education

Kent graduated from high school in 1985 at Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina.[4] He graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian History & Literature from Harvard University. He then earned a Master of Arts from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1992.[1] Kent later graduated with a Master of Science in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces of the National Defense University in 2012.[5]

Career

Kent has been a member of the United States Foreign Service since 1992.[6][7] He speaks Ukrainian, Russian, and Thai, as well as some Polish, German, and Italian.[1] He has worked as a U.S. Foreign Service officer in Ukraine, Poland, Thailand and Uzbekistan.[5]

From 1995 to 1997, he was posted in Warsaw, Poland, as an economics officer dealing with trade, environmental, and counter-narcotics issues.[5]

Ukraine appointments

Kent was later assigned to serve as deputy political counselor in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 2004 to 2007, which included the time period of the Orange Revolution.[5] From 2012 to 2014, Kent served as director of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.[1] He served as a senior anti-corruption coordinator in the European bureau in 2014–2015,[1] and as deputy chief of mission in Kyiv from 2015 to 2018.[7]

In 2015, Kent "raised the alarm" over the perception of conflict of interest due to Hunter Biden's directorship of Burisma due to Vice President Biden's official role working on anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.[8][9]

On September 4, 2018, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and held this position until September 3, 2021.[1][5][7]

External videos
video icon Testimony of Kent and Ambassador William Taylor before the House Intelligence Committee, November 13, 2019, C-SPAN

On October 15, 2019, Kent gave a deposition in the House impeachment inquiry of President Trump, serving as a key witness on whether Rudy Giuliani used a campaign of disinformation to undermine the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.[10] Kent's warnings regarding the disinformation campaign are documented in State Department emails submitted to Congress by the organization's inspector general. Kent protested a "fake news smear" directed at Ambassador Yovanovitch by media commentators supportive of President Trump. He also criticized the Ukrainian prosecutor undermining Yovanovitch, calling the disinformation "complete poppycock."[11] On November 13, 2019, along with Ambassador Bill Taylor, Kent gave public testimony to the House Intelligence Committee during the first public hearing.[12]

While serving as interim Charge d'affaires at the Embassy of the United States, Kyiv during the summer of 2021, Kent embarked on a press tour of local Ukrainian media. In one interview, Kent opined that the differences between Russia and Ukraine are distilled in the paintings of Ilya Repin. Burlaki, per Kent, shows the "servile and slavish character of the people" in the country, however Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks illustrates the "dignity and imbued liberty of Ukraine."[13]

U.S. Ambassador to Estonia

On September 2, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Kent serve as the next ambassador to Estonia.[14] His nomination was sent to the Senate on September 8, 2022.[15] On November 29, 2022, hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. On December 7, 2022, the committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate. On December 13, 2022, his nomination was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote.[16] Kent presented his credentials to Estonian President Alar Karis on February 21, 2023.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "George P. Kent". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "Transcript: Kent and Taylor public testimony in front of House Intelligence Committee". The Washington Post. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Who is testifying in impeachment hearings? Meet William Taylor, George Kent and Marie Yovanovitch". AP News. November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  4. ^ Kropf, Schuyler (November 14, 2019). "Key Trump Ukraine impeachment witness George Kent has Charleston roots". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e "USUBC Members welcomed George Kent, new Deputy Assistant Secretary, Europe, U.S. State Department, in Washington, D.C". U.S.–Ukraine Business Council. September 10, 2018. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Hansler, Jennifer (October 15, 2019). "Another career diplomat caught in the Ukraine scandal speaking to impeachment probe Tuesday". CNN. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Bade, Rachael (October 15, 2019). "State Department official to face questions about Ukraine and Giuliani". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  8. ^ Faulders, Katherine (October 18, 2019). "Diplomat said he expressed concern over Hunter Biden's foreign work in 2015". ABC News. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  9. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (October 18, 2019). "Diplomat Told House Investigators He Raised Alarm About Hunter Biden in 2015". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Kane, Paul; Demirjian, Karoun; Bade, Rachael (October 15, 2019). "White House directed 'three amigos' to run Ukraine policy, senior State department official tells House investigators". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Fandos, Nicholas; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Shear, Michael D. (October 15, 2019). "Senior State Dept. Ukraine Expert Says White House Sidelined Him". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Herb, Jeremy; Cohen, Marshall (November 13, 2019). "State Department official describes Giuliani's 'campaign of lies' in Ukraine". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  13. ^ "Джордж Кент прокоментував скандальну статтю Володимира Путіна". July 16, 2021.
  14. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "PN2592 - Nomination of George P. Kent for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Ambassador George P. Kent". U.S. Embassy in Estonia. April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.

External links

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Diplomatic posts Preceded byJames D. Melville Jr. United States Ambassador to Estonia 2023–present Incumbent
Current United States Ambassadors to the member states of the European Union
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