UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of
Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service
Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Republic of the Philippines
CANDIDATE: MaryKay Loss Carlson
MaryKay Loss Carlson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Previously, she worked as Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, India, for three years, including a ten-month stint as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Prior to that, she held the position of Principal Deputy Executive Secretary on the staff of the Secretary of State in Washington, D.C. A Foreign Service officer since 1985, she has also served at U.S. Diplomatic Missions in China (twice), Ukraine, Hong Kong, Mozambique, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic. Carlson has devoted much of her career, spanning over 36 years, to the East Asia 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 the Philippines.
Carlson’s domestic assignments include Director of the Secretary’s Executive Secretariat Staff and Deputy Director of Korean Affairs. She has received numerous performance awards, including six Superior Honor Awards. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Carlson has a Bachelor’s Degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and holds Masters Degrees from Georgetown University and the National War College. She speaks Spanish and Chinese.