Home2021 Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission ...Romanowsk, Alina L – The Republic of Iraq – December 2021 hide Romanowsk, Alina L – The Republic of Iraq – December 2021 Certificate of Competency December 17, 2021 UNITED STATES SENATE SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4) POST: The Republic of Iraq CANDIDATE: Alina L. Romanowski Alina L. Romanowski, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. Prior to this, she was the Department of State’s Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism. During almost forty years of service across various U.S government agencies, Romanowski has become expert on Middle East affairs. Her broad foreign policy experience, leadership abilities, distinguished U.S. government career, and expert knowledge of the Middle East make her well qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. Previously at the Department of State, she served as the Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. Earlier, at the U.S. Agency for International Development, she was Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East Bureau. Romanowski joined the Department of State in 2003 to establish the Middle East Partnership Initiative Office and served as its first Director. She also held Deputy Assistant Secretary positions in the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and served as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Romanowski also served in senior positions at the Department of Defense. She was the founding Director of the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Director of the NESA Office; and country director for Israel. She began her government career as an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. The recipient of numerous awards, including a Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, Romanowski received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. She speaks French and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
