Ruth A. Davis
Encyclopedia
Ruth A. Davis,. Ambassador Davis is the 24th Director General of the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...

. She holds the distinction of being the first woman of color to be appointed as Director General of the Foreign Service and the first African-American Director of the Foreign Service Institute
Foreign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...

. In 2002, she became a career member of the Senior Foreign Service
Senior Foreign Service
The Senior Foreign Service comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades equivalent to general- and flag ranks in the military and...

 and a Career Ambassador. She is presently the Chief of Staff of the Africa Bureau of the U.S. Department of State.

Early life

Born May 28, 1943 in Phoenix, AZ, but raised primarily in the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, she grew up in the segregated South and recalls the stark separation of whites and blacks. She remembers family vacations with her parents in which many restaurants and public services were off limits to African Americans. Davis graduated magna cum laude from Spelman College
Spelman College
Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...

 in and received her Master's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley. As a Merrill Scholar at Spelman, Davis studied abroad in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

Diplomat and Ambassador

In 2001, Davis was appointed by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 to the post of Director General of the Foreign Service. Prior to assuming this position, Davis served as of the Foreign Service Institute
Foreign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...

 from 1977 to 2001. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the U.S. government's primary training institution for American diplomats. The FSI is based in Virginia and provides more than 500 courses, including about 60 foreign language classes, to more than 30,000 students a year from the State Department and other government agencies and the military service branches.

Ambassador Davis has also served as the Principal Deputy Director Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs (1995–1997), as Consul General in Spain and was the U.S. Ambassador to Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 from 1992 to 1995. She also served as Distinguished Advisor at the Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...

 International Affairs Center at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

 from 2003 until 2005.
Ambassador Davis joined the Foreign Service in 1969 as Consular Officer in Zaire and between 1971 until 1980 she went on to serve in consular affairs in Nairobi, Kenya, Tokyo, Japan and Napels, Italy. She returned to the United States as a Pearson Fellow in Washington, DC.
Ambassador Davis is credited for improving the District's involvement in the international, economic and diplomatic arenas. She is also credited for her contribution to the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games as well as Atlanta's successful bid for the 1996 Olympics.
Described as a "Diplomatic Pioneer", Davis has worked diligently to increase diversity among the ranks of the ranks of the international diplomatic corps.
During her tenure she has been successful in attracting more diverse people into the Foreign Service. Davis has found important allies in her quest, especially her two most recent bosses: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...

 and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...

.

Awards

  • Honorary Doctor of Laws Spelman College
    Spelman College
    Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman was the first historically black female...

     (1998)
  • U.S. State Department Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award (1999)
  • U.S. State Department Superior Honor Award (1999)
  • Presidential Distinguished Service Award (President William J. Clinton) (1999)
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws Middlebury College
    Middlebury College
    Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...

    (2000)
  • Presidential Distinguished Service Award (President George W. Bush) (2002)
  • U.S. Secretary of State Achievement Award (2003)
  • U.S. State Department Equal Employment Opportunity Award (2005)
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