Ambassador Kristina A. Kvien (Retired)

Ambassador Kvien assumed the role of President and CEO of Pacific Council in March, 2026.

Previously, she spent over three decades as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State.  She retired as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. From 2023-2026, she served as the tenth U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia.  From 2019-2022, she served as the Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy Ukraine, leading evacuation of the Embassy shortly before Russia’s further invasion in 2022 and return to the Embassy in May 2022. For her work in Ukraine, Ambassador Kvien received the Ryan C. Crocker Award for Outstanding Leadership in Expeditionary Diplomacy.

Ambassador Kvien has dedicated her career to deepening U.S. relations with Europe and Southeast Asia.  She served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at U.S. Embassy Paris; Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Bangkok; Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy London; and Director for European Union, Ukraine, and Belarus Affairs at the National Security Council in the Executive Office of the President. Ambassador Kvien earlier served at U.S. Embassy Moscow; the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels; U.S. Embassy Manila; and Washington DC, where she worked on European Union issues and bilateral relations with Slovenia.

Ambassador Kvien was born and raised in California, with a BA in Political Science from Occidental College and an MS in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.  Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she worked in the Sales Presentation Department at the Los Angeles Times.

March, 2026