Prudence Bushnell

Prudence Bushnell (born 1946) is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Kenya and as United States Ambassador to Guatemala.

Bushnell was born in Washington D.C. in 1946. Her father was a career Foreign Service Officer, and as a result of her family's travels, she grew up in Iran, Germany, France and Pakistan. After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Maryland, Bushnell received a graduate degree from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York.

Following graduation, Bushnell went to work as a management consultant in Texas. She joined the foreign service in 1981 as an administrative track officer, with her first assignment being in Bombay, India. She then served as Deputy Chief of Mission under Ambassador George Moose at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

In 1993, Ambassador Moose was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs by President Bill Clinton. Bushnell accompanied Moose to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary. Bushnell's time in Washington was marked by extreme tension in Africa. On October 3, 1993, 18 U.S. soldiers were killed and 73 wounded in an attempt to apprehend warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid at the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. The American public was appalled at the deaths and support for American involvement in African affairs suffered as a result. It was against this backdrop that the Rwandan Genocide began. On April 6, 1994, Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, the President of Burundi, were both killed when their plane was shot down on approach to Kigali Airport in Rwanda. Responsibility for the assassinations has never been clearly established, however, the resulting chaos was the catalyst for the masacre of Tutsis at the hands of Rwanda's Hutu majority.

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