Ambassador

Ambassador Michael R. Arietti

Ambassador  Michael R Arietti

Ambassador Michael R. Arietti was nominated by President Bush and Secretary Rice as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Rwanda in September 2005. He was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 6. He presented his credentials to Rwandan President Paul Kagame on December 5.

Ambassador Arietti joined the Department of State in 1973 and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service.   He has held many positions in the Department.  Most recently he held the position of Director of the Office of West African Affairs.   During this period he was directly involved in efforts to bring about peace in Liberia, as well as coordination of American cooperation with ECOWAS headquarters on regional issues.

Ambassador Arietti has previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Lusaka, Zambia.  He has also served at U.S. Embassies in Sweden, Australia, and Iran.  Within the Department of State, Ambassador Arietti has served as Director of the Office of UN Peacekeeping Operations, as Director of the Human Rights Office and in other positions responsible for arms control negotiations, and Middle Eastern issues.  He has also worked on environmental issues, including the protection and sustainable use of African timber resources.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Ambassador Arietti served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India.  He is married and has one daughter.