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 You are in: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and Publications Office > Publications > Meet the Ambassador 

Mattie R. Sharpless, Ambassador to the Central African Republic



Ambassador Mattie R. Sharpless greets children, on January 12, 2002, at a Pygmy village in Mbaiki, Central African Republic, where she is working to establish a sister relationship with the church of the village.  

 Ambassador Mattie R. Sharpless greets children, on January 12, 2002, at a Pygmy village in Mbaiki, Central African Republic, where she is working to establish a sister relationship with the church of the village. (Photo courtesy of American Embassy, Bangui.)

 (See additional photo below.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Ambassador Sharpless: "Serving as the Ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR) is both very challenging and rewarding. The Mission plays a critical role in strengthening the political, economic, diplomatic, and cultural relations between the United States and the CAR. We work to promote democracy, good governance, respect of human rights, economic development, and health and education programs, and to encourage the CAR Government's cooperation in the fight against terrorism. With program assistance of some $500,000 annually, we provide training for CAR military officials, educational scholarships for girls, training of judicial and court officials and assistance for numerous economic developmental self-help projects throughout the country. Though our assistance funds are very small, these programs and projects make a substantial difference in the livelihood of the Central Africans, who earns on average just over $300 per year.

In reaching out to all levels of the Central African Republic, I have traveled to many areas of the country and visited schools, churches, and businesses. My highest priorities are aimed at assisting in raising the level of education, especially for girls, helping to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and working to re-establish the Peace Corps in the CAR.

My Foreign Service career has been fascinating and has enabled me to travel the world and reach out to a multitude of cultures. Having attained the rank of Ambassador through the Foreign Service career ladder of the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture has been most rewarding for me personally. I am also privileged that the Primary School of the Boussimba/Molangue Refugee camp, here in the Central African Republic, has been named in my honor."

Hometown: Hampstead, North Carolina

Learn more about the Central African Republic and Embassy Bangui by visiting its Country Information page.  For more ambassador profiles, click here.

Visit the State Department's Careers page to find out about Foreign Service and Civil Service careers and about opportunities for students.

Additional Photo: 

Ambassador Mattie R. Sharpless is welcomed by Dimosse Torkam Yam, then Prefect (Governor) of the Prefecture of Lobaye, on July 9, 2002 at the Boussimba/Molangue Primary School of the Congolese Refugee Camp, which was named in her honor.
Ambassador Mattie R. Sharpless is welcomed by Dimosse Torkam Yam, then Prefect (Governor) of the Prefecture of Lobaye on July 9, 2002 at the Boussimba/Molangue Primary School of the Congolese Refugee Camp, which was named in her honor during the inauguration ceremony on World Refugee Day, June 20, 2002. (Photo Courtesy of American Embassy, Bangui.)


Released on August 9, 2002

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