Preceded by Dan Mozena | Spouse(s) Olivier Bernicat | |
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President Barack Obama
Donald Trump Alma mater Lafayette College
Georgetown University Education Lafayette College, Georgetown University | ||
Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (born 1957) is a diplomat and current United States Ambassador to Bangladesh. She was nominated by President Obama May 2014 and confirmed by the Senate on November 18, 2014.
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Early life and education
Bernicat was born in 1953 and grew up in Tinton Falls, N.J. and graduated from Monmouth Regional High School In 1975 she earned a B.A. from Lafayette College, where she majored in history. Through work with her mentor and thesis advisor, she became particularly interested in the League of Nations and the relationship between the United States and the United Nations. She earned an M.S. from Georgetown University in 1980.
Career
Bernicat began her career working in a managerial position at Procter & Gamble in New York City.
1982 Bernicat began her career as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. embassy in Bamako, the capital of Mali. She served as consular officer at the U.S. consulate general in Marseille, France from 1984 to 1986. From 1986 to 1989 she held position in the U.S., but successive moves after that had her assigned in India, Morocco, Malawi and Barbados. From 2006 to 2008 she was office director for several Asian countries. In that role she was engaged in negotiations to supply India with non-military nuclear materials. She was nominated by George W. Bush in 2008 to be U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.
From 2012 to 2014 Bernicat served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources at the Department of State. In 2014 she was nominated and confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh. She spoke with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about Bangladesh, noting that it is the eighth largest country in the world by population and third largest Muslim majority nation. Bangladesh, she observed, is known for traditions that are moderate and pluralistic.
Personal
In addition to English, Bernicat speaks French, Hindi and Russian. She is married to Olivier Bernicat and they have two children.