Janet A. Sanderson was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Haiti by the U.S. Senate on February 16, 2006. Ambassador Sanderson, a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor, recently served as U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. During her appointment, she worked to build bilateral cooperation with that strategically located country and oversaw the normalization of the U.S. diplomatic presence in light of an improving local political and security environment.

Ambassador Sanderson served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Amman, Jordan (1997-2000). An economic officer by training, her other assignments included Economic Minister-Counselor in Cairo (1993-1997), Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan (1989-1992), and Petroleum Attaché in Kuwait (1982-1984). She served as the Agency for International Development Liaison Officer in charge of U.S. assistance programs in the West Bank and Gaza in Tel Aviv (1980-1982), and started her career as Vice-Consul/Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In Washington, Ambassador Sanderson served as the desk officer for Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (1984-86) and subsequently as the desk officer for the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (1986-1988).

Ambassador Sanderson is the recipient of numerous awards including the Department’s Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards and the 1996 Herbert A. Salzman Award for International Economic Performance. A resident of Tucson, Arizona, she entered the Foreign Service in December 1977. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in Government and has a M.A. in National Security Studies from the College of Naval Warfare, Newport, RI. Ambassador Sanderson speaks French, Arabic and Bengali.