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: Republic of Palau
CANDIDATE: Joel Ehrendreich
Joel Ehrendreich, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Counselor, currently serves as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Previously he served as Director of Regional and Security Policy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to that, he was Senior Operations Officer in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs; Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps; Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa, Japan; Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Manila; and, Economic and Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy Singapore. Earlier assignments include service at U.S. Embassies in New Delhi, India; Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; and Togo, West Africa. Ehrendreich also served in the White House Situation Room as a Senior Duty Officer. Earlier in his career, he served in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. Ehrendreich’s deep and substantive background in East Asian and Pacific Affairs and his previous regional assignments, coupled with nearly thirty years of Foreign Service experience make him a well-qualified candidate for Ambassador to Palau.
Ehrendreich is the recipient of numerous State Department performance awards. He also won the American Foreign Service Association’s Award for Constructive Dissent. A native of Nebraska, Ehrendreich graduated from Drake University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He speaks French and Japanese.