Home2021 Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission ...Gitenstein, Mark Henry – European Union – August 2021 hide Gitenstein, Mark Henry – European Union – August 2021 Certificate of Competency June 25, 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: The European Union CANDIDATE: Mark Henry Gitenstein Mark Gitenstein is Senior Counsel at Mayer Brown LLP, and a former U.S. Ambassador to Romania. His focus as ambassador on the issue of strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and on efforts to strengthen anticorruption structures, provided him a unique perspective of the role and impact of the EU on emerging democracies in central Europe. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gitenstein worked for 17 years in the U.S. Senate, as Chief Counsel or Minority Chief Counsel of the Judiciary Committee, Chief Counsel of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, and Counsel for the Intelligence Committee. His strong leadership credentials, coupled with his extensive experience in government on a diverse array of important policy issues, make him well-qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. Mr. Gitenstein has continued to engage on issues related to building and strengthening democracy and free markets, not only in Romania but in Moldova, Ukraine and elsewhere in the Balkans, including as a Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of the University of Washington’s Romania, Moldova & Ukraine Study. Mr. Gitenstein earned an A.B. at Duke University and a J.D. at Georgetown University Law School. He was awarded the Star of Romania, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by the President of Romania in 2012.
