October 26, 2012

The Hon Kathleen Stephens former US Ambassador to Korea Senior Associate Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Georgetown University Guest of Honour ICAS Annual Liberty Celebration Dinner 2012 December 4 2012 7:00 PM - 9:15 PM Cannon Caucus Room US House of Representatives Capitol Hill Washington DC Inquiry: ICAS@ICASinc.org

Dear Friend: We are pleased to share with you that Ambassador Kathleen Stephens has been nominated to receive the ICAS Annual Liberty Award 2012 for her "outstanding professional achievements, demonstrated commitment to serving the society and distingushed contributions to elevating the quality of humanity" and that she will be honoured at the ICAS Annual Liberty Celebration Dinner 2012. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens is a U.S. Foreign Service officer with the rank of Career Minister. She is currently a Senior Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. Ambassador Stephens was Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, February to April 2012. She was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, 2008 to 2011. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1978, Kathy has served in numerous posts in Washington, Asia, and Europe. From 2005 to 2007 she was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP), responsible for overall bureau management and public diplomacy and for management of U.S. relations with Japan and Korea. Kathy was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) from 2003 to 2005, focused on post-conflict and stabilization issues in the Balkans. Other Washington assignments included Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration, Senior United Kingdom Country Officer in the European Bureau, and Director of the State Department’s Office of Ecology and Terrestrial Conservation in the Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Scientific Affairs. Ambassador Stephens’ overseas postings have included Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal (1998-2001), and U.S. Consul General in Belfast, Northern Ireland (1995-1998) during the consolidation of ceasefires and negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement. Earlier foreign assignments included consular and public affairs officer in Guangzhou, China (1980-1982), chief of the internal political unit in Seoul (1984-1987), principal officer of the U.S. Consulate in Busan, Korea (1987-1989), and political officer in the former Yugoslavia, 1991-1992. Kathy has received numerous State Department awards and in 2009 received the Presidential Meritorious Service Award. In 2010 she was named the Department of State’s Linguist of the Year, and also received the Korean YWCA’s Korea Women’s Leadership "Special Prize" Award. In 2011 Kathy received the Pacific Century Institute’s Building Bridges Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and the Kwanghwa Medal of Diplomatic Merit from the Korean government. She is serving in 2012 as an honorary member of the 50th Anniversary Committee for the State Department’s Art in Embassies program. The Korean-language book Reflections of an American Ambassador to Korea, based on her blog essays, was published in 2010. Ambassador Stephens was born in El Paso, Texas and grew up in Arizona. Kathy holds a BA (Honors) in East Asian studies from Prescott College, a master’s degree from Harvard University, and honorary doctoral degrees from Chungnam National University and the University of Maryland. She also studied at the University of Hong Kong and was an instructor at the Outward Bound School of Hong Kong, 1972-1973. Kathy was a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea from 1975 to 1977. She has one son, a robotics engineer working in Boston. Thank you.