Ambassador Karen Sasahara

Karen Sasahara is a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute. She served for over three decades as a U.S. diplomat, most recently as the U.S. ambassador to the State of Kuwait. Other senior diplomatic assignments include U.S. consul general in Jerusalem and chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Jordan. Previous diplomatic postings include Sanaa, U.S. Central Command, Baghdad, Beirut, Mexico City, Tunis, the Sinai Peninsula, London, Jeddah, and numerous assignments in Washington. Sasahara has worked on a wide array of policy issues, including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, security assistance and training, and political transition and national dialogue. She has worked extensively with the U.S. military, providing foreign policy and subject matter expertise. Sasahara earned an MA in Near East studies from the George Washington University and a BA in international relations from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.