| Steven Fagin | |
| Ambassador From: | United States |
| Country: | Yemen |
| President: | Joe Biden |
| Term Start: | June 1, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | Christopher P. Henzel |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | Williams College (BA) University of Michigan (MA) |
Steven H. Fagin is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Yemen since 2022.
Fagin attended East Brunswick High School[1] Fagin earned a BA from Williams College and his MA from the University of Michigan.[2] He also attended Harvard Law School and was an exchange student at Tbilisi State University in Georgia.[3]
Fagin is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of minister–counselor; he joined in 1997.[3] Early in his career, Fagin was the director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Office at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, the political-economic counselor of the U.S. embassy in Brussels, Belgium and the deputy political counselor of the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.[2] He has also served as the director of the Office of Iranian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs of the State Department and as the director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs from September 2013 to April 2015. He later served as acting deputy assistant secretary of state of the bureau from April to August 2015.[4] He previously served as the principal officer at the U.S. consulate general in Erbil, Iraq. He most recently served as the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. Fagin has also held assignments in Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Georgia and Egypt in addition to serving as special assistant to the under secretary of state for political affairs and as the desk officer for Pakistan.[2]
On November 17, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Fagin to be the next United States ambassador to Yemen.[5] On December 2, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[6] His nomination ultimately expired at the end of the year and was returned to President Biden on January 3, 2022.[7]
Fagin was subsequently renominated the next day.[8] Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 3, 2022. His nomination was favorably reported on March 23, 2022.[9] His nomination was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote on April 7, 2022. He presented his credentials on June 1, 2022.[10]
During his service, Fagin has received numerous State Department awards as well as a Presidential Meritorious Service Award.