Samantha Power

Samantha Power
Name	Samantha Power
Caption	Official portrait, 2021
Office	Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
President	Joe Biden
Term start	May 3, 2021
Predecessor	John Barsa (acting)
Office1	28th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
President1	Barack Obama
Term start1	August 5, 2013
Term end1	January 20, 2017
Predecessor1	Susan Rice
Successor1	Nikki Haley
Office2	Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights
President2	Barack Obama
Term start2	January 20, 2009
Term end2	March 10, 2013
Predecessor2	Position established
Successor2	Stephen Pomper
Birth date	21 September 1970
Birth place	London, England
Spouse	Cass Sunstein (m. 2008)
Alma mater	Yale University (BA), Harvard University (JD)
Party	Democratic

Samantha Power is an Irish-American diplomat, academic, and author serving as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development under President Joe Biden. She previously served as the 28th United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President Barack Obama. A leading voice on human rights and foreign policy, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her book A Problem from Hell, which examines United States foreign policy and genocide.

Early life and education

Born in London to Irish parents, she moved to Dublin at age nine and later to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended Yale University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She then worked as a journalist covering the Yugoslav Wars for outlets like U.S. News & World Report and The Boston Globe. This experience led her to Harvard Law School, where she earned a Juris Doctor degree.

Career in journalism and academia

Her reporting from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia established her expertise on conflict and atrocities. She later became the founding executive director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. As a professor, she taught at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Law School, focusing on global leadership and public policy. Her scholarly work often examined the intersection of American foreign policy and international law.

Diplomatic and political career

She joined the Obama administration in 2009 as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on the National Security Council. In this role, she advised on issues including the United Nations, humanitarian intervention, and the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. She played a key part in shaping the administration's response to the Libyan Civil War (2011) and the Syrian civil war.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Confirmed by the United States Senate in 2013, she advocated for robust multilateral engagement. During her tenure, she addressed crises including the Second Congo War, the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. She championed LGBT rights at the United Nations and supported UN Security Council resolutions on ISIL and Iranian nuclear program. She served until the end of the Obama presidency.

Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development

Nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed in 2021, she leads the federal government's primary agency for international development and humanitarian assistance. Her priorities include strengthening global COVID-19 pandemic response, advancing democracy and human rights, and addressing climate change. She has overseen significant aid initiatives for Ukraine following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and for regions facing famine like the Horn of Africa.

Awards and honors

She received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for A Problem from Hell. Other recognitions include the 2017 Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the 2020 Freedom Award from the International Rescue Committee. She has been named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People and holds honorary degrees from University of Michigan and Duke University.

Personal life

She is married to legal scholar and former administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Cass Sunstein. They have two children and reside in Washington, D.C.. An avid sports fan, she is a part-owner of the National Women's Soccer League team Washington Spirit.

Category:American diplomats Category:United States Agency for International Development administrators Category:Pulitzer Prize winners