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 Albania
CANDIDATE: Kathleen Ann Kavalec
Kathleen Kavalec, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs since 2015. Previously, Ms. Kavalec was the Director of the Office of Russian Affairs (2014 -2015) and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Mission UNESCO in Paris, France (2010-2013). As Deputy Coordinator for Assistance in the European Bureau (2009-2010), and as Director for Conflict Prevention in the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (2008-2009), she directed major U.S. assistance programs. Her strong leadership and policy-making skills, developed during over thirty years of service in five overseas posts and in Washington working with almost every Department and agency, make her an excellent candidate for U.S. Ambassador to Albania.
Ms. Kavalec’s overseas assignments include service as Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Bucharest, Romania (2005-2008), Political Counselor, U.S. Embassy, Kyiv, Ukraine (1999-2001), and Political Officer, U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia (1992-1994). In Washington, DC, she served as a Legislative Management Officer in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs (1995-1996) and as Director of the Economic Unit in the Office of the Coordinator for Assistance for the New Independent States (1996-1998).
Ms. Kavalec earned her A.B. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982 and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1984. An accomplished linguist, she speaks French, Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. She is the recipient of several notable State Department performance awards.