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: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
CANDIDATE: Heide B. Fulton
Heide B. Fulton, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In this capacity she is responsible for State Department programs combating illicit drugs and organized crime, as well as support for law enforcement and rule of law, in the Western Hemisphere and INL’s global aviation program. Before that, she served as Director of the Office of Mexican Affairs. Previously, she led the U.S. Embassy in Honduras as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affairs a.i. Fulton has served overseas in Afghanistan, Ecuador, Cambodia, and Manila. Her Washington assignments include Director of the Main Press Office, Pearson Fellow in the Office of Senator Robert Menendez, Press Advisor for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. Fulton has devoted much of her career, spanning nearly 25 years, to the Western Hemisphere region. This extensive and substantive regional experience, coupled with her management experience and demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams as well as policy-oriented offices, makes her a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Fulton served on active duty as a Quartermaster Officer with the U.S. Army in Europe. She returned to active duty as a Civil Affairs Officer to deploy to Iraq. Fulton retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in 2020 after 28 years of service. She is the recipient of five Senior Foreign Service Performance awards and multiple State Department Superior Honor Awards. A native of New York, she has a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Troy State University. She speaks Spanish.