US names new a Chargé d’Affaires of Embassy in Nairobi

US names new a Chargé d’Affaires of Embassy in Nairobi

Susan M. Burns is the Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

She was named to the new position on August 25.

The embassy said she has previously served as the Principal Officer in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 2022 to 2025. Other assignments include Director for the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Public Affairs Officer in Kampala, Uganda and Kathmandu, Nepal.

Her other postings include Poland, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Ghana, and Taiwan.

Burns is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister Counselor, and was awarded the State Department’s Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy in 2017.

She has a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University. She has studied Mandarin, Polish, Nepali, Vietnamese, and French. Ms. Burns is married and has two children.

Carla Benini will remain the head of mission.