Kathleen Stephens

Kathleen Stephens is the United States ambassador to South Korea.cite news|work=Naver News|title=차기 주한 美대사 `33년전 예산중 영어교사' (Next U.S. Ambassador to Korea was an English teacher at Yesan Middle 33 years ago)|date=2008-01-28|accessdate=2008-01-28|url=http://news.naver.com/hotissue/ranking_read.php?ranking_type=popular_day&date=2008-01-28&section_id=003&office_id=001&article_id=0001939810&seq=2] cite news|title=

One-time E.V. resident now ambassador to S. Korea|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/126347]

Early life

Stephens was born in west Texas and grew up in New Mexico and Arizona.cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/or/29465.htm|title=Biography of Kathleen Stephens|accessdate=2008-01-28|publisher=United States Department of State] She holds a B.A. in East Asian studies from Prescott College and a Master's degree from Harvard University, and also studied at Oxford University. After university, she was a Peace Corps volunteer South Korea's Yesan, South Chungcheong from 1975-1977; it was then that she was given her Korean name "Eungyeong Shim" (심은경). She later lived in Hong Kong as an exchange student at the University of Hong Kong and an instructor with Outward Bound. She speaks Korean and Serbo-Croatian, with limited competence in Cantonese and Mandarin.cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/p/eap/53104.htm|title=Stephens, D. Kathleen|publisher=United States Department of State|accessdate=2008-01-28]

Career

Stephens joined the United States Foreign Service in 1978. Early in her career, Stephens served at U.S. missions in the People's Republic of China (1980-1982) and in Trinidad and Tobago (1978-1980). Her tour of duty in South Korea included roles as internal political unit chief at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul (1984-1987) and Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Busan (1987-1989). Afterwards, she worked as a political officer at the U.S. missions in Belgrade and Zagreb (1991-1992), senior desk officer for the United Kingdom in the Bureau of European Affairs (1992-1994), Director for European Affairs at the United States National Security Council, 1994-1995, Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1995-1998, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, 1998-2001, and Director of the Office of Ecology and Terrestrial Conservation at the United States Department of State, 2001-2003.

Stephens assumed her duties as Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs on December 5, 2003, during which her primary responsibility was policy oversight and management of relations with the countries of South-Central Europe. Following that, she assumed her duties as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in June 2005. In that capacity she was responsible for a variety of Bureau-wide issues, including post management. She had particular responsibility for the management of U.S. relations with Japan and Korea.

Stephens grew up in the American Southwest and now calls western Montana home.

Appointment as US Ambassador to South Korea

On July 31, 2008 Senator Sam Brownback lifted his objection to the nomination of Stephens to be the US ambassador to South Korea, removing a key obstacle to her confirmation. Brownback had been blocking Stephens' nomination over human rights concerns in North Korea and how they were being addressed in the six-nation North Korean nuclear negotiations. [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5huSr2cto6oXklRH0nXdM8i7PEQ0wD9293M6G1 Associated Press. "GOP senator removes block on US envoy to SKorea" by Foster Klug. July 31, 2008.] ] On August 1, 2008 the US Senate confirmed Stephens' nomination as US ambassador to South Korea one day after Senator Brownback dropped his opposition to Stephens. [http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/08/205_28657.html The Korea Times. "Senate Confirms Nomination of New US Envoy to Korea" August 3, 2008.] ]

References