Rena Bitter

Rena Bitter is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Laos from 2016 to 2020.

Rena Bitter
Rena Bitter in 2016
United States Ambassador to Laos
In office
November 1, 2016 – January 26, 2020
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byDaniel A. Clune
Succeeded byPeter Haymond
Personal details
Born
Rena Elizabeth Bitter[1]
Alma materNorthwestern University
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law

Early life and education

Bitter grew up in Dallas, Texas, one of three children of Frieda and Herb Bitter.[2] She received her B.S. degree from Northwestern University in 1986 as well as a J.D. from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in 1991.[3][4]

Career

Bitter began her career in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1994. She served on the Department of State's Executive Secretariat Staff from 2000 to 2001, and served as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of State from 2001 to 2002. After that she served in London from 2002 to 2003 as a Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellow, and then as Chief of the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit in the Consular Section there. In her next assignment, Bitter was Consular Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan from 2006 to 2009. She then returned to domestic assignments at the Department of State's Operations Center from 2009 to 2012. As a result of her role in operations, Bitter was called as a witness in the court-martial of Bradley Manning (later Chelsea Manning),[5] a United States Army soldier who was subsequently convicted in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents,.[6]

From 2012 until she became Ambassador to Laos, Bitter served as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.[7][8] She presented her credentials on November 1, 2016. Her mission terminated on January 26, 2020.

Personal

Bitter speaks Spanish, Arabic and Vietnamese.

References
  1. Southern Methodist University School of Law "Twentieth Annual Hooding of Candidates for the Degree of Juris Doctor and Presentation of Candidates for Other Degrees" 18 May 1991 accessed 11 September 2019
  2. U.S. Department of State "Rena Bitter" accessed 2 March 2019
  3. The White House "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" 18 May 2016 accessed 2 March 2019
  4. AllGov "Who is Rena Bitter?" 17 September 2016
  5. ABC News "Bradley Manning Trial: Lawyers Argue to Drop Some Charges" 7 June 2012
  6. Manning, Chelsea E. (May 27, 2015). "The years since I was jailed for releasing the 'war diaries' have been a rollercoaster". The Guardian. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  7. The White House "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" 18 May 2016 accessed 2 March 2019
  8. AllGov "Who is Rena Bitter?" 17 September 2016
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