Ambassador

Biography of Ambassador June Carter Perry

Ambassador June Carter Perry
Ambassador, Republic of Sierra Leone

June Carter Perry was confirmed by the Senate as the next U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone in June, 2007.  Ambassador Perry formally presented her credentials on April 7, 2008.

Previously, she served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho. She had also served in the State Department as Director of the Office of Social and Humanitarian Affairs in the International Organizations (IO) Bureau with responsibility for policy matters within the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on the Status of Women.

Ms. Perry is a graduate of Loyola University/Chicago (B.A.) and the University of Chicago (M.A.), the State Department’s Senior Seminar and the National Defense University’s CAPSTONE program. She has served on national security and international affairs delegations in Asia, Africa and Europe. Ambassador Perry was Diplomat in Residence at Howard University where she promoted Secretary Powell’s Diplomatic Readiness Initiative. She was selected for the State Department’s 2002 Diplomat in Residence of the Year Award.

Ambassador Perry served as DCM in the Central African Republic and Madagascar. Previously, as political affairs officer in AF/S responsible for Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, she initiated bursaries funding for South African students and established the first MOU between the U.S. and SADC. Other State Department assignments include Senior Advisor in the Africa Bureau, Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary, Chief of Internal Political Affairs and Narcotics Coordinator at Embassy Paris and Deputy Director/A/ Director, Office of Policy and Plans, Political Military Affairs Bureau. She also served in Zambia and Zimbabwe and received Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards as well as Senior Performance Pay.

Before her diplomatic career, Ms. Perry was Director of Public Affairs at the national volunteer agency, ACTION, including Peace Corps; Special Assistant at the Community Services Administration; and Director of Public Affairs at WGMS/RKO Radio Corporation. A former instructor at the University of Maryland and North Carolina A&T State University, she was Vice President of The Women’s Institute and the Thursday Luncheon Group. She has lived in Guyana, South America, Micronesia and Malaysia with her husband, Frederick M. Perry, a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer. The Perrys have two sons and two grandchildren.