Dogu, Laura Farnsworth – Honduras – November 2021

UNITED STATES SENATE

SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)

POST:                  Republic of Honduras

CANDIDATE:     Laura Farnsworth Dogu

Laura Farnsworth Dogu is the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.  Previously she served at the FBI as the Deputy Director of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, an interagency group of law enforcement, diplomatic, military and the intelligence experts responsible for the recovery of U.S. persons held hostage abroad.  Ms. Dogu was the Ambassador of the United States to Nicaragua from 2015-2018, responsible for the bilateral relationship during a time of violent civic unrest.  Earlier, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Mexico City where she managed the many different facets of the complex U.S.-Mexico relationship, one that involves nearly every agency of the U.S. government.  Ms. Dogu is a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister.  Her extensive diplomatic experience, demonstrated leadership abilities and expert knowledge of regional affairs make her a well-qualified candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras.

Other overseas assignments include the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and the U.S. embassies in Turkey, Egypt and El Salvador.  Washington assignments at the Department of State included Deputy Executive Director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and Operations Center Watch Officer.  Ms. Dogu received an M.S. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C., and an MBA, BBA and B.A. from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.  The recipient of numerous honors, including a Presidential Merit Award and the James A. Baker III and C. Howard Wilkins Jr. Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission, Dogu speaks Spanish, Turkish and Arabic.