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: State of Qatar
CANDIDATE: Mary Catherine Phee
Mary Catherine Phee, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently is a Special Advisor in the Bureau of Human Resources, Department of State, Washington D.C. Previously, she served as Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, and as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ambassador Phee also has extensive policy expertise in the Arab world. She was detailed to the National Security Council as Director for Iraq and selected to participate on the Joint Strategic Assessment Team established by Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus in 2007 to revise the U.S. campaign plan in Iraq. She was the Senior Civilian Representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority to Maysan Province, al-Amarah, Iraq. Her strong record of leadership, exceptional regional policy expertise, and commitment to mentoring and staff development make her an excellent choice to be Ambassador to the State of Qatar.
Among her other assignments, Ambassador Phee served as Counselor and Deputy Security Council Coordinator at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she advanced U.S. policies on issues such as the Arab-Israeli peace process, Lebanon, and counter-terrorism sanctions. Earlier in her career, in addition to an assignment as Desk Officer for Iran, she has served as a political officer at U.S. embassies in Kuwait City, Kuwait; Cairo, Egypt; and Amman, Jordan.
Ambassador Phee earned a B.A. at Indiana University in 1985 and a M.A.L.D. from Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1989. She is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, including the 2016 Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for her commitment to peace and the alleviation of human suffering caused by war and the 2014 Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission. She also received the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 2004 and the Order of the British Empire in 2006. She speaks Arabic, French and Italian.