Elizabeth Holzhall Richard

Elizabeth Richard
United States Ambassador to Lebanon
Incumbent
Assumed office May 17, 2016
President	Barack Obama Donald Trump
Preceded by	Richard Jones
Personal details
Alma mater	Southern Methodist University National Defense University

Elizabeth Holzhall Richard is an American diplomat and United States Ambassador to Lebanon. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in February 2016 and confirmed by the Senate on May 17, 2016.

Richard is the daughter of Vern F. Holzhall and Mary V. Holzhall. She earned a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. She later earned an M.S. from the National War College.

Richard joined the Foreign Service in 1986. Her early career included assignments in Ecuador, Italy, Singapore, and Thailand. From 2002 to 2003 she was Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. She then served two years as Deputy to the U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues. In 2005 she became Deputy Director of the Office of Asia, Africa, and Europe in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and a year later became Director for Counter-Narcotics, Law Enforcement, and Rule of Law Programs in Kabul, Afghanistan. From 2008 to 2010 she served in Islamabad, Pakistan and from 2010 to 2013 she was Deputy Chief of Mission in Yemen.

When tapped by President Obama for an ambassador role, Richard was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department, a role she had held since 2013.

Richard is the widow of Christopher John Richard.

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