Elizabeth Fitzsimmons

Elizabeth Fitzsimmons
United States Ambassador to Togo
In office
April 26, 2022 – May 30, 2024[1]
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byEric Stromayer
Personal details
Born
Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy

1972 or 1973 (age 51–52)[2]
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Virginia (BA)

Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons (born 1972/1973) is an American diplomat who had served as the United States Ambassador to Togo. She has serve Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Conflict and Stabilization Operations since August 12, 2024.[3]

Education

Fitzsimmons earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia.[4] She also holds a certificate from the International Division of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan 1993.

Career

Fitzsimmons is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. She has served overseas in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, India and Bulgaria. She has also worked in the State Department's Operations Center and as Deputy Director of the State Department's Executive Secretariat. Other assignments included being deputy executive secretary to Secretaries John Kerry and Rex Tillerson, senior advisor at the Foreign Service Institute, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Public Diplomacy) in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.[4] From October 1, 2018, to 2021, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Africa and Public Diplomacy.[5] Prior to that, she was Acting Deputy Spokesperson for the Department. From January to September 2021, she served as the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs.[4]

United States ambassador to Togo

On August 4, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Fitzsimmons to be the next United States Ambassador to Togo.[4] The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings on her nomination on October 20, 2021. The committee reported her favorably to the Senate floor on November 3, 2021. On December 18, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination by voice vote.[6] She presented her credentials to President Faure Gnassingbé on April 26, 2022.[7]

Personal life

Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy married Trevor Morrison Fitzsimmons on November 27, 1999. Their marriage ended in divorce.  In 2011 she married Diplomatic Security Special Agent Richard Seipert and the two have five children.[8] Her father was the associate medical director and the chief of surgery at the Nemours Children's Clinic in Jacksonville. Her mother was the president of the Delaware Symphony from 1993 to 1995 and its chairwoman in 1995 and 1996.[2]

Fitzsimmons speaks Bulgarian, French and Chinese. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://x.com/USEmbassyLome/status/1796127514328268816?t=gI8c9CRJSt_kTL3TRLHg5w&s=19 [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b "WEDDINGS; Ms. Noseworthy, Mr. Fitzsimmons". The New York Times. November 28, 1999. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  3. ^ https://www.state.gov/biographies/elizabeth-fitzsimmons/
  4. ^ a b c d "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Nine Foreign Policy and National Security Leaders" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "Elizabeth Fitzsimmons". United States Department of State. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  6. ^ "PN1005 - Nomination of Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "L'ambassadeur des Etats-Unis d'Amérique au Togo présente sa lettre d'accréditation". United States Department of State. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  8. ^ "A Practical Guide to International Divorce in the Foreign Service - FS Know-How | The Foreign Service Journal - December 2013". afsa.org. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  9. ^ "Why are there so many Latter-day Saint ambassadors?". Deseret News. 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Togo
2022–present 		Incumbent