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Deborah K. Jones

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Deborah Jones
Official portrait, 2008
11th United States Ambassador to Libya
In office
June 20, 2013 – September 12, 2015[1]
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byChristopher Stevens
Succeeded byPeter Bodde
United States Ambassador to Kuwait
In office
April 28, 2008 – June 30, 2011
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded byRichard LeBaron
Succeeded byMatthew Tueller
Personal details
Born1956 (age 67–68)
SpouseRichard Olson (m. 1990 - div. 2019)
Alma materBrigham Young University
National Defense University

Deborah Kay Jones (born 1956) is an American diplomat and the former United States ambassador to Libya.[2][3] Prior to her appointment in Libya, she was the United States ambassador to Kuwait from 2008 to 2011.[4]

Life

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She has degrees from Brigham Young University and the National Defense University.[5]

She was married to Richard G. Olson, the former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and they have two children.[5][6]

Jones and Olson were investigated by the State Department's Office of Inspector General for failing to report a gift of diamonds worth $60,000 by the emir of Dubai to Jones's mother while Olson was head of the U.S. consulate in Dubai and Jones was leading the State Department's Office of Arabian Affairs in Washington. Jones had also previously served as deputy chief of mission in the United Arab Emirates (of which Dubai is a part). The State Department closed the investigation without taking action after the couple successfully argued that Jones’s mother was not their dependent for tax purposes at the time of the gift, and therefore not covered by the requirements of the Foreign Gifts and Decoration Act. In September 2016 letter, State Department lawyers requested that the couple voluntarily relinquish the diamonds, stating it was “extremely disappointing that you were not sufficiently concerned with the gift to seek guidance from the ethics office.” Jones' mother died in December 2022, and Jones stated to the Washington Post in September 2023 that she did not know what happened to the diamonds.[7]

Jones served as U.S. ambassador to Libya from 2013 to 2015, though this posting became non-residential on July 26, 2014, when the Tripoli embassy was closed and diplomatic activities were moved to the U.S. embassy in Valletta, Malta.[8]

References

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  1. ^ https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/jones-deborah-kay
  2. ^ Gordon, Michael R. (14 March 2013). "Obama Meets Libyan Premier and Names Envoy". The New York Times. No. March 13, 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Ambassador | Embassy of the United States Tripoli, Libya". Libya.usembassy.gov. 2013-06-26. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Jones, Deborah K." U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Website Management. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Ambassador Deborah K. Jones". U.S. Embassy Kuwait. U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Olson, Richard". U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Website Management. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Diamonds, girlfriends, illicit lobbying: The fall of a former ambassador". Washington Post. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Deborah Kay Jones - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Kuwait
2008–2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Libya
2013–2015
Succeeded by