Linda Thomas-Greenfield served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations and as the U.S. Representative to the UN Security Council from 2021 to 2025. During her tenure, she was a member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet and served on the National Security Council. Prior to her appointment, she led the State Department’s transition team for the Biden Administration.
A career diplomat, Thomas-Greenfield held a wide range of senior diplomatic assignments over several decades. From 2013 to 2017, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, where she oversaw U.S. policy development for sub-Saharan Africa. She also served as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, managing the State Department’s global workforce.
Her overseas assignments included serving as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia from 2008 to 2012, as well as diplomatic postings in Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. In Washington, she held key leadership positions including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
Following her retirement from government service in 2017, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield became head of the Africa Practice at Albright Stonebridge Group and served as a Distinguished Resident Fellow in African Studies at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, where she also pursued doctoral studies. Her numerous honors include the Presidential Rank Award, the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award, and several other distinguished recognitions. She has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Liberia.