Andrew Robert Young (born April 18, 1961)[2] is an American diplomat who has served as United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso from 2016 to 2020.

Andrew Robert Young
United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso
In office
November 20, 2016[1] – March 26, 2020[1]
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byTulinabo S. Mushingi
Succeeded bySandra E. Clark
Personal details
Born (1961-04-18) April 18, 1961 (age 63)
Downey, California
SpouseMargaret Young
ChildrenNathan and Claire Young
Alma materUniversity of California Berkeley
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

He attended University of California Berkeley and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He was confirmed as ambassador on September 28, 2016, and succeeded Tulinabo S. Mushingi.[3]

Consular career

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Young's first posting after joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1991 was as a consular officer in Hong Kong. He then transferred to Washington, D.C., in 1993 to work at the India and Bhutan Desk in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs. In 1995, Young was made political and economic section chief in Bombay, India, and two years later was assigned to the post of political officer in Rangoon, Myanmar.[3]

From 2000 to 2003 Young served as deputy principal officer in Auckland, New Zealand, after which he was the foreign policy adviser to Senator Joe Lieberman. He returned to foreign service work in 2005 when he was given an assignment in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Italy and San Marino Desk, and in 2007 he was sent to be political officer in the Paris, France consulate.[4]

In 2010, Young was sent to serve as the information officer for the Seoul embassy where he learned to speak Korean, and from 2013 until his appointment to ambassador in 2016, Young worked as deputy chief of mission in Bamako, Mali.[5]

In March 2020, he became the first American ambassador to be diagnosed with COVID-19, as a part of the COVID-19 pandemic in Burkina Faso.[6][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Andrew R. Young (?–)". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. ^ "U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso: Who Is Andrew Robert Young?". AllGov. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Young, Andrew Robert - Burkina Faso - June 2016". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  4. ^ "U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso: Who Is Andrew Robert Young?". AllGov. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Ambassador Andrew Young". U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. ^ Jakes, Lara (April 4, 2020). "When the Face of America Falls Ill: A Virus's Toll on Diplomats". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Tasamba, James (23 March 2020). "US envoy to Burkina Faso tests positive for COVID-19". aa.com. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. ^ Galloway, Jim (28 March 2020). "Dear Georgia: Andrew Young, our version, is feeling fine". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso
2016–2020
Succeeded by