Krishna Raj Urs[2] is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Peru from 2017 to 2020.

Krishna Urs
United States Ambassador to Peru
In office
October 25, 2017[1] – July 29, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byBrian A. Nichols
Succeeded byDenison Offutt (acting)
Personal details
BornCheshire, Connecticut
SpouseDenise
Children2
EducationGeorgetown University
University of Texas

Early life

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Urs was born in Cheshire, Connecticut. He is of Indian descent.[3]

Urs graduated from Cheshire High School in 1976 before attending Georgetown University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in foreign service in 1980. Urs spent his junior year of college studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador. He received a master's degree in international economics from the University of Texas in 1985.[4]

Career

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Urs has served as a career diplomat for the United States since 1986. He has completed diplomatic posts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua, and Bangladesh. He has also served as the Pakistan Desk Officer for the United States Department of State and worked for the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs.[5]

Urs has served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs and Chief U.S. Government Aviation Negotiator at the Department of State; as Director in the Office of Aviation Negotiations in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs in the Department of State; as Deputy Chief of Mission and chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia; and as Director of the Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State.[5]

In June 2014, Urs became Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. In January 2017, he was named the mission's chargé d'affaires.[6]

Urs was confirmed by the United States Senate as the next United States Ambassador to Peru in August 2017. He had been nominated to the position in June 2017 by President Donald Trump.[6] Urs presented his credentials to the President of Peru on October 25, 2017.[1] He left his post on July 29, 2020.[7]

In March 2020, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Urs departed Peru due to what the embassy called "medical concerns" while American citizens were still stranded in the country.[8] A different State Department official was then dispatched to Peru to oversee the repatriation of U.S. citizens stranded in Peru.[8]

Personal life

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Urs speaks fluent Spanish as well as some Hindi and Telugu.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Peru: New U.S. ambassador presents credentials to President Kuczynski Comparte información, comparte valores © Copyright Agencia de noticias Agencia Andina". Andina. Editora Peru. October 25, 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. ^ "PN1487 — Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. September 17, 1990. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  3. ^ López Lenci, Gisella (November 30, 2017). "Embajador de EE.UU. en el Perú: "Trump no es el presidente del mundo"". El Comercio. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  4. ^ Straehley, Steve (August 3, 2017). "U.S. Ambassador to Peru: Who Is Krishna Urs?". AllGov. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Chargé d'Affaires Krishna R. Urs". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Donald Trump appoints Indo-American Krishna R Urs as US Ambassador to Peru". Economic Times. June 29, 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Krishna R. Urs - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  8. ^ a b Kelly, Laura (March 24, 2020). "Senior State Department official headed to Peru to bring home stranded Americans, Rubio says". The Hill. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Urs, Krishana Raj – Republic of Peru – July 2017". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Peru
2017–2020
Succeeded by
Denison Offutt
Chargé d’Affaires