Henry Wooster/COURTESYUnited States President Donald Trump has nominated veteran diplomat Henry Wooster to serve as the next US Ambassador to Kenya, placing a seasoned foreign service officer at the helm of one of Washington’s most important diplomatic missions in Africa.
The nomination was contained in a communication dated June 1, 2026, released by the White House and formally transmitted to the US Senate for consideration and confirmation.
If approved by the Senate, Wooster will serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Kenya, succeeding the current diplomatic leadership in Nairobi.
The White House described Wooster, a Virginia native, as a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor.
His nomination forms part of a broader batch of diplomatic appointments announced by the Trump administration and now awaiting Senate approval.
Wooster's nomination effectively ends a lengthy wait for the appointment of a substantive US ambassador to Kenya, a position that has remained vacant for an extended period following the election of Trump into office in November 2024.
During that time, the US Embassy in Nairobi has been led by a Chargé d’Affaires, who has overseen diplomatic operations pending the appointment and confirmation of a full ambassador.
Until his election, Meg Whitman served as the ambassador to Kenya under President Joe Biden.
Should the Senate approve his nomination, Wooster will become Washington's top diplomatic representative in Kenya.
Wooster brings decades of diplomatic and security experience to the position, having served in some of the United States’ most strategically significant foreign postings.
Most recently, he served as Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Before that, he was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department.
Between September 2020 and July 2023, Wooster served as the US Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, one of Washington’s key allies in the Middle East.
Prior to his ambassadorial posting in Jordan, Wooster served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Maghreb and Egypt.
His extensive diplomatic résumé includes assignments as Deputy Chief of Mission in Paris, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Amman, Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Islamabad and Director for Central Asia at the National Security Council.
He has also served as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commanding General of the US Joint Special Operations Command, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran, Director of the Office of Iranian Affairs and Deputy Director of the Office of Provincial Affairs in Baghdad.
Other postings include diplomatic assignments in Moscow, Tbilisi, Port-au-Prince and the US Mission to NATO.
Before joining the Foreign Service, Wooster served as an officer in the United States Army.
Academically, he holds a Master of Arts degree from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College.
His nomination comes at a time when Kenya and the United States continue to deepen cooperation in security, trade, technology, climate action and regional peace initiatives.
Kenya remains one of Washington’s closest partners in Africa and a key ally in efforts to promote stability in the Horn of Africa and the wider East African region.
