PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA NOMINATES
LESLIE V. ROWE AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE

Ambassador Leslie V. Rowe

The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that on September 12, 2009, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Leslie V. Rowe to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique.  A respected career diplomat with broad experience, Ambassador Rowe has previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu from September 2006 until July 2009.  Her previous posting was as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, the largest U.S. Embassy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ms. Rowe joined the Foreign Service in 1983 and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service.  Previous assignments include: Consul General in Bangkok, Thailand; Consul General in Lisbon, Portugal; Director of the Office of Children’s Issues at the Department of State; country desk officer for Chile; Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Recife, Brazil.  She has also served in San Jose, Costa Rica and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

Ms. Rowe is from the State of Washington, where she completed her university studies at Washington State University, and she holds master’s degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Northeastern University.  She also holds a certificate from the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and was a Fulbright scholar in Germany.  Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Rowe served as Director of the International Office at Tufts University.  She has taught foreign languages at the secondary school level.  Ms. Rowe speaks Portuguese, French and Spanish.  Ms. Rowe is married to Theodore Dieffenbacher, and they have three children. 

According to established procedure, the nomination is followed by a thorough deliberation and confirmation process in the U.S. Senate, the length of which depends on the working schedule of the Senate.  The exact arrival date of Ambassador Rowe is not known at this time.

The official White House nomination announcement can be viewed at:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Administration-Posts-9/11/09/