Home2019 Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission ...Romanowski, Alina L. – State of Kuwait – August 2019 hide Romanowski, Alina L. – State of Kuwait – August 2019 Certificate of Competency August 29, 2019 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: State of Kuwait CANDIDATE: Alina L. Romanowski Alina L. Romanowski, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, currently serves as the Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Previously, she was the Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia in the State Department’s Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs and the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development. She is known for her policy savvy, strong interagency experience, management of billion-dollar foreign assistance programs, and launching new initiatives. She has direct experience with Kuwait, working with its government on DOD’s post-DESERT STORM engagement and on counterterrorism challenges in the region. Her distinguished record of leadership, considerable regional expertise, and extensive experience on national security issues make her an excellent candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. Ms. Romanowski was twice a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, was an Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and, in her first assignment in the State Department, created the Middle East Partnership Initiative Office and served as its first Director. At the Defense Department she was the founding Director of the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies; 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 during the first Gulf War. Ms. Romanowski earned both her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Chicago, and she did post graduate studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Presidential Distinguished Rank Award and two Presidential Meritorious Rank Awards. She speaks French and has studied Arabic and Hebrew.
