Obama nominates new ambassador to Malta

US President Barack Obama has nominated G. Kathleen Hill as the next ambassador to Malta. In July, the nomination was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. and once this is confirmed by the US Senate, it will be the first such post for the career foreign service officer.

Hill – who speaks Italian, Russian and Serbian - currently serves as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Executive Secretary at the Department of State. 

In 1995, Hill served as political and consular officer at the US embassy in Belgrade, Serbia which was followed by a stint as assistant general services officer in the embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 1999 she returned to Washington where she served as watch officer in the State Department Operations Center. Much of Hill’s career was spent in management of U.S. posts; her next assignment, beginning in 2000, was as post management officer in the Bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs.

In 2002, Hill was named human resources and budget and fiscal officer for the U.S. embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Then in 2004, Hill was made management officer in the consulate in Milan, Italy.

In 2007 when she was appointed political/economic officer in the U.S. consulate in Vancouver, Canada. There she prepared for the run-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in British Columbia, including securing more space for the many temporary Foreign Service officers assigned there during the Games.

Hill took on even more responsibility when she served as supervisory post management officer in the Executive Directorate of Near Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Affairs during the time of the Arab Spring.