REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
CANDIDATE: Randy W. Berry
Randy Berry is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He has been Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Department of State, since 2016. He was previously the State Department’s first Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons (2015 – 2017). Mr. Berry also has extensive leadership experience; he served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy, Kathmandu, Nepal (2007 – 2009) and then was twice a Principal Officer and Consul General — first at the U.S. Consulate General, Auckland, New Zealand (2009 -2012), and then at the U.S. Consulate General, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2012 -2015). Mr. Berry is respected by his colleagues for his strong and decisive leadership, his diverse experience as a manager, and his ability to make and implement policy across complex lines of authority and interagency engagement. These qualities, coupled with his keen understanding of Nepal and South Asia, make him an excellent candidate for Ambassador to Nepal.
Mr. Berry’s other assignments include service as Deputy Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Cape Town, South Africa (2003 – 2007); Senior Desk Officer for South Africa, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State (2002 – 2003); and as Political Section Chief, and then Regional Refugee Coordinator, at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda (1998 – 2002). Early in his career Mr. Berry was Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh (1993-1995) and then at the U.S. Embassy, Cairo, Egypt (1996 – 1998).
Mr. Berry earned his B.A. from Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas in 1987 and he did graduate work at Adelaide University, Adelaide, Australia in 1988. Mr. Berry speaks Spanish and Arabic. He is the recipient of 10 notable State Department awards. He was also a Rotary Foundation Graduate Scholar (1988).