Melanie Harris Higgins

Melanie Harris Higgins is an American official and diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Burundi from March 2, 2021 to July 13, 2023.

Education

Higgins earned a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

Career

Higgins is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor. During her two decades of service, Higgins served as the Acting Director and Acting Public Affairs Advisor for the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. She also held a number of other positions at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Jakarta, Indonesia, Canberra, Australia, and Yaounde, Cameroon. She has served as the Principal Officer of the United States Consulate General in Auckland, New Zealand and was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. She currently serves as Director of the Office of Central African Affairs at the State Department. On November 18, 2020, her nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate by voice vote. She took the oath of office on January 13, 2021. On March 2, 2021, she presented her credentials to President Évariste Ndayishimiye.

Awards

In 2010, she received the Sinclaire Language Award from the American Foreign Service Association.

Personal life

Higgins speaks French, Indonesian, and some Bosnian.