January 30, 2023
George P. Kent, the United States Ambassador Designate to the Republic of Estonia, arrived on Friday and has begun his work at the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn. Today, after presenting his credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for processing, Ambassador Designate Kent met with Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu. During the meeting, Ambassador Designate Kent highlighted the excellent relationship between the United States and Estonia and discussed continued cooperation in supporting Ukraine and countering Russian aggression.
According to Estonian diplomatic protocol, Ambassador Designate Kent will be fully accredited as the U.S. Chief of Mission after he has presented his credentials to the Estonian President.
Ambassador George P. Kent was sworn-in as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia on December 21, 2022. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Ambassador Kent most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau at the U.S. Department of State. Previously, he was Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyiv, Ukraine. Prior to that, Ambassador Kent was the Senior Anti-Corruption Coordinator in the State Department’s European Bureau. He has also served as Director for Europe and Asia in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1992, Ambassador Kent has served in U.S. Diplomatic Missions in Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Warsaw, Poland; Bangkok, Thailand (twice), and Kyiv, Ukraine (twice). Other State Department assignments include Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Operations Center Watch Officer, and Thai desk officer.
Born in Connecticut, Ambassador Kent holds an A.B. from Harvard in Russian History and Literature, an M.A. from Johns Hopkins’ SAIS, and an M.S. from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School. Ambassador Kent speaks Ukrainian, Russian, and Thai, as well as some Estonian, Polish, German, and Italian. He is accompanied in Tallinn by his wife, Velida, and their labradoodle, Sultan.
Photo of Ambassador-designate Kent: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassytallinn/52658122886/
