Jimmy J. Kolker
| Jimmy J. Kolker | |
|---|---|
| 14th United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso | |
|
In office November 16, 1999 – August 2, 2002 | |
| President |
Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Sharon P. Wilkinson |
| Succeeded by | J. Anthony Holmes |
| 15th United States Ambassador to Uganda | |
|
In office November 9, 2002 – September 30, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Martin George Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Steven A. Browning |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1948 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Spouse(s) | Britt-Marie Forslund |
| Alma mater |
Carleton College Harvard University |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Jimmy J. Kolker is an American diplomat. He was the ambassador to Burkina Faso from 1999 to 2002 and Uganda from 2002 to 2005.[1] He was Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section at UNICEF’s New York headquarters 2007-2011. He is currently Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC.
Biography
Jimmy Kolker was born in 1948 in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude from Carleton College and received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship 1970-71, which he spent in Chad, Uganda and Ghana. Kolker earned a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1983. He served for four years on the Senate staff of U.S. Senator James Abourezk.
Kolker joined the U.S. foreign service in 1977, and held diplomatic reporting posts in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. He then moved to management jobs as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Botswana from 1990 to 1994, and in Copenhagen, Denmark from 1996 to 1999.
President Bill Clinton nominated Kolker as United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso on July 1, 1999, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November, 1999.[2] He left the post on August 2, 2002.
President George W. Bush nominated Kolker as United States Ambassador to Uganda and he was confirmed on October 3, 2002. He left this post on September 30, 2005.
From 2005 to 2007, Kolker was Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, leading implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). From 2007 to 2011, Kolker was Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section at UNICEF’s New York headquarters. He led UNICEF's work on HIV and AIDS, focusing on mother-to-child-transmission of HIV, pediatric treatment, prevention among adolescents and young people and protection for children and families affected by AIDS.
In November 2011, Kolker returned to the U.S. Government, taking on the role of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. This office is part of the Office of the HHS Secretary. In 2014, Ambassador Kolker was promoted to Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. [3] Kolker represents HHS at interagency and World Health Organization meetings. His office has a leading role in global health security. He is alternate US board member of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Kolker speaks French, Swedish, and Portuguese as foreign languages. He is married to Britt-Marie Forslund. They have two daughters – Anne and Eva.[4]
References
- ↑ "Office of the Historian - Department History - People - Jimmy J. Kolker". History.state.gov. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ↑ "Online Library Archives". Archives.clintonpresidentialcenter.org. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ↑ "Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs". HHS.gov. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
- ↑ "Press centre - Jimmy Kolker - Chief of HIV/AIDS, Programme Division". UNICEF. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).