Obama announces new US ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives

•  Sison succeeds Patricia

Washington, DC: The United States President Barack Obama has nominated Ambassador Michele J. Sison as the new ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Ambassador Michele J. Sison, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is currently the Assistant Chief of Mission for Law Enforcement and Rule of Law Assistance in Baghdad, Iraq.

Sison will be replacing the current Ambassador Patricia Butenis who took up the position in Colombo in August 2009.  

Announcing his intent to nominate Sison and Brett H. McGurk as Ambassador to Iraq, President Obama said, “Our nation will be greatly served by the talent and expertise these individuals bring to their new roles. I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

According to the White House announcement, from 2008 to 2010, Sison was Ambassador to the Republic of Lebanon. She was Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2004 to 2008 and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs from 2002 to 2004.

Ambassador Sison’s prior assignments include: Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; Consul General in Chennai, India; Consul General in Douala, Cameroon; and Director of Career Development and Assignments in the Department of State’s Bureau of Human Resources.

Ambassador Sison is of Philippines and American origin with family roots in Lingayen, Pangasinan, in the Philippines.