Cynthia G. Efird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cynthia Grissom Efird (born in Detroit, Michigan) is the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Angola. She was appointed to the position by President George W. Bush in 2004.
[edit] Education
Efird went to the private Cranbrook Kingswood School, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and masters degrees from Duke University and the National War College of the National Defense University.
[edit] Career
Efird joined the United States Foreign Service in 1977. She served with the US embassies in Yugoslavia (1978-1982), the East Germany (1983-1985), and Mozambique (1988-1989). From 1989 until 1993 she was press officer for both the U.S. embassy and the U.S. Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and volunteered to serve the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Somalia. In 1997 she was appointed Deputy Counselor for Public Affairs in the US embassy in Moscow, Russia until 2000 when she returned to the OSCE to oversee the media sector in Kosovo on behalf of the UN. She has also been Special Adviser to the Associate United States Trade Representative and immediately before her appointment as Ambassador to Angola, she was director of public affairs for the Bureau of African Affairs at the United States Department of State.