Anne E. Derse

Anne E. Derse
United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan
In office
July, 2006  July 4, 2009
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Reno L. Harnish
Succeeded by Donald Lu
United States Ambassador to Lithuania
In office
September 28, 2009  September 15th, 2012
President Barack Obama
Preceded by John Cloud
Succeeded by Anne Hall
Personal details
Born 1954
Lakewood, Ohio
Spouse(s) E. Mason "Hank" Hendrickson
Alma mater Macalester College

Anne Elizabeth Derse (born in 1954 in Lakewood, Ohio) is a former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan (2006–09) and Lithuania (2009–12).[1]

Education and personal life

Anne E. Derse completed her Bachelor of Arts in French and Linguistics from Macalester College[2] in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1976 and her Master of Arts in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1981. She also graduated with distinction from the State Department's Economic and Commercial Studies program in 1989.

Derse is married to fellow (now retired) foreign service officer E. Mason "Hank" Hendrickson.[3][4]

Career

Derse joined the Department of State in 1981, and served in Trinidad and Tobago from 1981 to 1983. From 1985 to 1988 she followed her husband to Singapore, where he served as First Secretary of the United States Embassy in Singapore there; however, he was expelled by the Singaporean government in May 1988 for his alleged involvement with opposition politicians Francis Seow and Patrick Seong, in an incident which came to be known as the "Hendrickson affair".[3][4]

Her most influential role came in 1999 when, as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union (USEU), she led the Mission's economic team covering U.S.-EU economic relations and served as the last U.S. Commissioner on the Tripartite Gold Commission, which adjudicated sovereign claims for Nazi gold recovered by the Allies after World War II. In late 2004 she assisted in establishing the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, serving there as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs.

Derse was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan from May 2006 until July 2009.

On June 4, 2009, it was announced that Derse would be appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as ambassador to Lithuania. She was confirmed by the Senate on July 24, 2009. She was sworn in on September 28, 2009, and presented her credentials on October 14, 2009.

References

  1. "Biography". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  2. "President Barack Obama has announced his intent to nominate Anne E. Derse". Macalester College. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Crossette, Barbara (1988-05-08), "Singapore Asks Removal of U.S. Envoy", The New York Times, retrieved 2010-03-03
  4. 4.0 4.1 American Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne E. Derse, USAID, 2007-07-06, retrieved 2010-03-03

External links

Preceded by
John Cloud
Ambassador of the United States to Lithuania
2009-
Succeeded by
-