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 Lithuania
CANDIDATE: Kara C. McDonald
Kara C. McDonald, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor, has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor since 2020. From January 2021 to April 2022, she was designated to serve concurrently as the Senior Official to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism for the Office of the Special Envoy. Previously she was U.S. Consul General Strasbourg and Deputy Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe. Other assignments include Deputy Chief of Mission in Chisinau, Moldova; Director of Policy, Planning, and Coordination in the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau; Deputy Special Coordinator for Haiti; Director for United Nations and International Operations at the National Security Council; Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; and the Czech Republic desk. She was also an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her other overseas assignments include U.S. Embassies Bucharest and Port-au-Prince. McDonald’s leadership and substantive background in European Affairs, policy and foreign assistance management experience, and her previous regional assignments, coupled with nearly twenty-five years of Foreign Service experience make her a well-qualified candidate for Ambassador to Lithuania.
Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, McDonald was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development. McDonald is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, including two Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards. Raised in Michigan, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Arts degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She speaks French, Romanian, and Russian.