UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Republic of Armenia
CANDIDATE: Kristina A. Kvien
Kristina A. Kvien, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Kyiv. She was previously Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. from 2020-2022. Previously, Kvien served as Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at U.S. Embassy Paris, France and as Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand. In both Paris and Bangkok, she served more than one year as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission. She also served as Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy London. Earlier in her career, Kvien was detailed to the National Security Council, Washington, D.C. as Director for EU, Ukraine and Belarus affairs. Other overseas assignments include U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russia; the U.S. Mission to the EU in Brussels; and U.S. Embassy Manila, The Philippines. Domestic assignments include the Office of European and Regional Affairs, and the Office of Central European Affairs, both in the Bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs.
Kvien’s nearly thirty years of diplomatic experience, combined with her extensive background as a manager, her regional expertise, and her demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams as well as policy-oriented offices, make her a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.
Kvien, a native of California, holds a BA from Occidental College and an MS from the U.S. Army War College. The recipient of multiple State Department performance awards, including five Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards, she speaks Russian and French.