Christine Elder (Bosch XI) was sworn in June 20, 2016 as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia, and arrived in Monrovia June 22 to assume her responsibilities.  She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and previously served as the Director for Southern African Affairs, with responsibility for U.S. relations with ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Mozambique, where she was the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission from 2010-2013.

Her other Washington assignments include tours in the Bureaus of Near Eastern and European Affairs, as well as the Secretary’s Operations Center, the Bureau of Economic Affairs, and the Bureau of International Information Programs.  In addition to Mozambique, she has served overseas in Bonn, Budapest, and Berlin.  She speaks German and Portuguese.

A native of Chicago and Kentucky, Ambassador Elder holds degrees from the University of Kentucky and The George Washington University.  She is married to Paul Hughes and has two stepchildren. She was a member of the class of Bosch XI (1994-1995), where she completed stages with the Auswärtiges Amt (German Foreign Office) and Siemens AG. She speaks German, Portugese, and Hungarian.