Deputy Chief of Mission

Deputy Chief of Mission Leigh Carter, Photo: Courtesy of Corriere del Ticino

Deputy Chief of Mission Leigh Carter

Leigh Carter joined the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in 1984. Her most recent overseas assignments were as Consul General in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2006 and in Islamabad, Pakistan from 2003 to 2004. Her prior overseas assignments include Dublin, Ireland, St. Petersburg, Russia, Paris, France and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. She served as a civilian observer with the Multinational Peacekeeping Forces in Sinai, Egypt from 1989 – 1990. In 2002, Ms. Carter was detailed to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island as Professor of National Security Strategy and Faculty Advisor.

Ms. Carter attended Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana as well as Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts where she studied history and philosophy, graduating with honors in 1980 with a Bachelor’s Degree. She undertook graduate studies in journalism and international communications at the University of Florida in 1982 and earned a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from the Naval War College in 2002. She is married to Richard Mills, a fellow Foreign Service Officer, currently assigned to the U.S. Embassy in London. Ms. Carter was commissioned as a Senior Foreign Service Officer in October 2004. She speaks French, German and Russian. Her permanent residence is St. Augustine, Florida.