Randy W. Berry

Randy William Berry (born 1965) is an American diplomat who has served the United States ambassador to Namibia. He previously served as the United States ambassador to Nepal and the first U.S. special envoy for the human rights of LGBTI persons.

Early life and education Randy W. Berry was born in 1965 and grew up on his family cattle ranch in Custer County, Colorado.

Berry graduated from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, receiving a Rotary Scholarship to attend the University of Adelaide in Australia. Besides English, he speaks Spanish and Arabic.

In his first year as Special Envoy, Berry traveled to 42 countries in an effort to ensure that LGBTI persons everywhere are afforded equal rights under the law. He has also identified combatting violence and discrimination against LGBTI persons as a key priority for his tenure. He began his term as Special Envoy by focusing on supporting LGBTI rights in South America.

At the conclusion of his first year in office, on April 20, 2016, Berry briefed reporters at the State Department's daily press briefing to outline his priorities for the second year of his term. During that briefing, he said that one of his major priorities for the coming year would be to combat anti-LBGTI violence around the world and that the State Department "will work" with other branches of the U.S. Government, including the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as "other agencies to leverage opportunities to reduce and prevent violence, share best practices and challenges and provide technical resources where we can."

The Obama administration, on January 20, 2017, also named Berry Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. On February 13, the State Department announced that Berry would continue in that position as well as that of Special Envoy in the Trump administration. The conservative Family Research Council had made removing such "activists" a priority and as recently as December called on the State Department to rid itself of employees who promote an "anti-family, anti-life agenda." A spokesperson for the Trump transition team responded to media outlets saying that any suggestion "that discrimination of any kind will be condoned or tolerated in a Trump administration is simply absurd."

Berry vacated the Special Envoy role in November 2017. The role stayed empty through the end of the Trump administration, but was filled again during the Biden administration with the appointment of Jessica Stern, who took office in September 2021.

United States ambassador to Nepal Berry was nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal by President Donald Trump in May 2018 and confirmed by the Senate on September 6, 2018. Berry presented his credentials to Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari on October 25, 2018. Berry was one of five LGBT appointed ambassadors under the Trump administration. He left the post on October 2, 2022, after the swearing-in of his successor, Dean R. Thompson, and his own confirmation to be the ambassador to Namibia.

United States ambassador to Namibia On June 22, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Berry to be the ambassador to Namibia. Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 28, 2022. His nomination was reported favorably out of committee on August 3, 2022, and the nomination was confirmed by the full Senate on September 30, 2022. Berry presented his credentials to President Hage Geingob on February 9, 2023.

Personal life Berry is married to Pravesh Singh, and together they have a son and a daughter. They reside in Washington, D.C.