Ambassador Louise V. Oliver

Ambassador Louise V. Oliver previously served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from February 2004 to January 2009. She is now a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C., a member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, and a director of the Council of American Ambassadors.

As the first U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO in twenty years, Ambassador Oliver was responsible for rebuilding the U.S. Mission as well as for the entire U.S. reengagement with UNESCO and its 192 member states. In order to advance U.S. programmatic and policy initiatives at UNESCO, she worked with numerous departments and agencies of the U.S. government including the Departments of State, Education, Energy, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Interior. She also worked closely with the National Security Council, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Library of Congress, as well as with numerous nonprofit organizations.