Ambassador (ret.) Kate Marie Byrnes

In a shifting geopolitical landscape marked by burgeoning Great Power competition, rising levels of instability and fraying traditional alliances, is there still an essential role for American diplomacy?

Ambassador (ret.) Kate Marie Byrnes is Principal of KMB Strategies LLC consulting services based in Sarasota, Florida, and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Tennessee Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs in Knoxville, Tennessee. Drawing on her national security experience in the senior ranks of the U.S. Foreign Service, she provides strategic advice and pragmatic solutions to institutions and individuals working to address geopolitical challenges.

Prior to retiring from the U.S. State Department in September 2025, she was Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Foreign Policy Advisor to U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, from 2022 to 2025. She was appointed to this role after serving as U.S. Ambassador to North Macedonia from 2019 to 2022, where she directed efforts to advance North Macedonia’s membership in NATO and the European Union.

Other assignments during her 32 years in the U.S. Foreign Service include: Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece; Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. and Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, Austria; and Public Affairs Advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. As part of the International Security Assistance Force from 2010-2011, she supervised governance and development in eastern Afghanistan. She also served in Washington, DC, Spain, Hungary, Bolivia, and Türkiye.

As a U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer, she received a Presidential Rank Award, and multiple Superior Honor and Meritorious Awards from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of the Army, as well as the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. She was a Pearson Congressional Fellow on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an International Women’s Forum (IWF) Leadership Foundation Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and a Master's Degree in Policy Management from Georgetown University.