Bernadette Meehan

Bernadette M. Meehan is an American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Chile from 2022 to 2025. She has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Wikimedia Foundation since January 20, 2026.

Early life and education Meehan was born in the Bronx, raised in Pleasantville, New York, and graduated from Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, New York in 1993. At 16, she moved to Río Gallegos, Argentina, as a high school exchange student. She graduated from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Meehan joined the United States Department of State as a Foreign Service officer in 2004, and began her new career as a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia. In 2010, she returned to Washington, D.C., to work as a State Department "line officer", advancing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's overseas travel. She then became From 2012-2015, Meehan was the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC). She worked as a senior advisor at the National Security Council from January 2016 to January 2017. In February 2017, Meehan left the Foreign Service for the Obama Foundation where she served as the executive director of International Programs, Chief International Officer, and then executive vice president of Global Programs. Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 15, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination on May 18, 2022. On July 20, 2022, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination by a 51–44 vote. She was sworn in on August 29, 2022, and presented her credentials to President Gabriel Boric on September 30, 2022. Following the election of President Donald Trump, Meehan submitted her resignation as ambassador effective January 10, 2025, following tradition for political appointees of both parties. She assumed the role on January 20, 2026, succeeding Maryana Iskander. The New York Times described her as fitting in with the non-flashy image of Wikipedians.

Personal life Meehan speaks English, Spanish, and Arabic.