Barbara J. Stephenson

Barbara Jean Stephenson (born 1958)[1] is an American diplomat and university official. Stephenson served as President of the American Foreign Service Association from 2015 to 2019.[2] She was formerly the Dean of the Leadership and Management School of the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia. Formerly, she was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London, and acted as Chargé d'Affaires following the departure of Ambassador Louis Susman.[3] She is the former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and was appointed by President Barack Obama in the Summer of 2010.[4][5]

Dr. Barbara Jean Stephenson
Stephenson in 2012
Dean of the Leadership and Management School
at the Foreign Service Institute
In office
2013–2015
Personal details
Born1958 (age 62–63)
Spouse(s)Matthew Furbush
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Florida
ProfessionDiplomat
Stephenson speaking at a handoff ceremony for Project Handclasp donations in Panama City, 2008

Biography

Stephenson received her Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. in English all from the University of Florida.[6] She is married to Matthew Furbush.[7] They have two children.

Career

Stephenson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and holds the rank of Minister Counselor at the Foreign Service.[8] She joined in 1985 and began her career in Panama as an economic and then political officer.[9] Stephenson served as Deputy Coordinator for Iraq at the U.S. Department of State. For her work - particularly the development and implementation of the civilian surge in Iraq - she won the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award.[10]

In August 2009, Stephenson wrote in a diplomatic cable that Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli had asked her for wiretaps on his political opponents in which she noted his "bullying style" and "autocratic tendencies".[11] A copy of the cable was released in December 2010 by WikiLeaks. Martinelli's administration stated after the leak that "help in tapping the telephones of politicians was never requested" and that Stephenson was "mistaken" in her interpretation. Ambassador Stephenson's assessment was vindicated when [12] the Panamanian government ruled to press corruption charges against Martinelli and to prosecute two former Secretaries of Panama's National Security Council on illegal wiretapping charges.[11][13]

Stephenson became the first woman to be appointed deputy ambassador and acting ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in London.[10]

After retiring from the Foreign Service, she presently serves as the Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Chief Global Officer at the University of North Carolina.[10]

References
  1. Barbara Jean Stephenson (1958–)
  2. UNC Europe. "The Future of Europe: An American Perspective - Lecture with Roger Cohen, NYT". Youtube. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-11-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "English Alumna Named Ambassador to Panama | UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences News". Clas.ufl.edu. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  5. Congress, United States (2008). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 6494.
  6. "University of Florida News - English alumna named ambassador to Panama". Insideuf.ufl.edu. 2008-05-28. Archived from the original on 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  7. "Ambassador Barbara Stephenson President, American Foreign Service Association" (PDF). AFSA. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  8. Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (2008-08-05). "Stephenson, Barbara J." 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  9. "AllGov - Officials". www.allgov.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  10. "Barbara J. Stephenson | UNC Global". global.unc.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  11. William Booth (December 27, 2010). "Mexican request for U.S. help in drug war detailed". The Washington Post.  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  12. http://www.sunherald.com/2015/02/02/6050607/panamas-ex-president-trots-globe.html%5B%5D
  13. http://panampost.com/elisa-vasquez/2015/01/14/phonetapping-scandal-brings-down-martinelli-officials/
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
William A. Eaton		 United States Ambassador to Panama
2008–2010		 Succeeded by
Phyllis M. Powers
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