Ambassador Reuben Brigety currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa.

Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety, II was the Vice Chancellor for The University of the South. He was previously the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs of The George Washington University. He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow for African Peace and Security at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ambassador Brigety’s most recent diplomatic assignment was serving as the Representative of the United States of America to the African Union and Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN Economic Commission for Africa from September 2013 to September 2015. Prior to this appointment, Ambassador Brigety served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs with responsibility for Southern African and Regional Security Affairs. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, where he supervised U.S. refugee programs in Africa, managed U.S. humanitarian diplomacy with major international partners, and oversaw the development of international migration policy.

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Ambassador Brigety also held appointments as an assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University and at the School of International Service at American University between August 2003 and April 2009. In addition, Ambassador Brigety was a researcher with the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from August 2001 to May 2003, where he conducted research missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Before joining HRW, Ambassador Brigety was an active duty U.S. naval officer and held several staff positions in the Pentagon and in fleet support units.

Ambassador Brigety is a 1995 Distinguished Midshipman Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a B.S. in political science (with merit), served as the Brigade Commander and received the Thomas G. Pownall Scholarship. He also holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Cambridge, England.

Ambassador Brigety is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a recipient of the Council’s International Affairs Fellowship. He is a member of the Board of Councilors of McLarty Associates, a member of the Board of Trustees of The Carter Center, a member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council, and an active adult volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America.