Fitrell, Troy Damian – Republic of Guinea – June 2021

REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

UNITED STATES SENATE

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

POST: Republic of Guinea

CANDIDATE: Troy Damian Fitrell

Troy Damian Fitrell, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor, is the director of the Office of West African Affairs at the Department of State. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in Ethiopia and Mauritius, and as Deputy Director of the Department’s Office of Southern African Affairs. He was Senior Advisor to the United States Special Envoy for the Great Lakes of Africa, coordinating U.S. policy on the cross-border security, political, and economic issues in the Great Lakes region. Mr. Fitrell’s extensive experience with African affairs, combined with his demonstrated ability to build and lead teams effectively in challenging environments, make him well-qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea.

Mr. Fitrell served as a Pearson Fellow on the staff of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In that position, he divided his time between Asia and Pacific issues, including sovereignty in the South China Sea, and African issues, including developments in democracy in Ethiopia and Kenya. He also served overseas as chief of the Political Section in Portugal, Labor Attache in Guatemala, chief of the Economic Section in Zambia, and as a political and consular officer in Ghana and Denmark.

Mr. Fitrell earned a B.A. at the University of Maryland and an M.S. at the National War College. He speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish and Danish.