WASHINGTON, D.C., December 14, 2021 — Howard University’s Center for African Studies and the Department of African Studies will welcome Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs, Molly Phee, during a U.S. Policy Toward Africa discussion on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 10 a.m in the Howard University Undergraduate Library.
Assistant Secretary Phee recently traveled with Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal on his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. The trip included a major policy speech in Nigeria, where the secretary outlined U.S.-Africa policy under the Biden-Harris administration.
As a follow-up to their journey, Phee will offer brief remarks and participate in a Q&A with Howard faculty, students and attendees.
Molly Phee, a career member of the senior foreign service with the rank of minister-counselor, was sworn in as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs on September 30, 2021. She most recently served as the deputy special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation.
Assistant Secretary Phee was U.S. ambassador to South Sudan from 2015-2017. She previously served as deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and as chief of staff in the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. Additionally, she was the acting assistant secretary for international organization affairs, as well as deputy security council coordinator at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, handling U.N. engagement in Africa and the Middle East for both portfolios. Earlier in her career, Phee served on the National Security Council as director for Iraq and as the senior civilian representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority to Maysan Province, Iraq. She began her career at the U.S. embassy in Amman, Jordan, and worked at U.S. embassies in Cairo, Egypt, and Kuwait City, Kuwait.
A native of Chicago, Phee is a graduate of Indiana University and earned a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She has received the Distinguished Honor Award, the Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for conflict resolution and peacemaking, the Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission, the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Order of the British Empire Award, and a Presidential Rank Award. She speaks Arabic.
The event will be livestreamed via the Center for African Studies YouTube channel.
To ensure the safety of Howard’s campus community, all guests are required to be fully vaccinated or provide a negative COVID-19 test. Other safety measures, including masks and social distancing, are also required.
