Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis
| Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 15th United States Ambassador to Hungary | |
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In office January 7, 2010 – July 20, 2013 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | April H. Foley |
| Succeeded by | Colleen Bell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1966 (age 50–51) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Markos Kounalakis |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College (A.B.) University of California, Berkeley (M.B.A.) |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis (born 1966) was the United States Ambassador to Hungary until July 2013. She was sworn into office by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on January 7, 2010. She presented her credentials to the President of Hungary, László Sólyom on January 11, 2010.
Before accepting President Obama’s nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis was president of AKT Development Corporation, one of California’s largest land development firms. Ambassador Kounalakis earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. In 2011, she received an Honorary Doctor of Law from the American College of Greece.
Ambassador Kounalakis and her husband, veteran print and broadcast journalist Markos Kounalakis, founded two university chairs in Hellenic studies, the Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair at Georgetown University, and the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair in honor of Constantine Mitsotakis at Stanford University, held by Josiah Ober. Both chairs focus on the understanding of the origins of Athenian democracy. They also established the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis lecture series at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to focus on democracy and international relations.
Ambassador Kounalakis served for nearly ten years as a Trustee of the World Council of Religions for Peace. In recognition for her work with the WCRP, she was awarded the medal of St. Paul, the Greek Orthodox Church of America’s highest honor. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed her to serve as a Trustee of the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.
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