Ambassador Elizabeth Richard was sworn in December 29, 2023, as the Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large, leading the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau and serving as the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters. In this capacity, Ambassador Richard also oversees U.S. engagement in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Ambassador Richard is a career Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Career Minister.

Prior to her current role, she was a distinguished fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. She served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic, from 2016 until 2020. She served in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for U.S. Assistance from 2013 – 2016. She was the Deputy Chief of Mission in Sanaa, Yemen, from 2010 to 2013. Ambassador Richard has also served in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Italy, and Southeast Asia.

Ambassador Richard is a graduate of the National War College in Washington DC, and of the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy. She has a law degree from Southern Methodist University and practiced law in Texas before joining the Foreign Service.