MEDIA ADVISORY | September 20 Digital Media Briefing with U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer

EVENT: Please join us on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 for a digital press briefing with U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer. Special Envoy Hammer will speak about his recent trip to the region to support African Union efforts to launch talks aimed at ending the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

DETAILS:

Speaker: Ambassador Mike Hammer, United States Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa

Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Time: 15:00 Johannesburg | 13:00 GMT | 9:00 a.m. Washington D.C.

French language. Simultaneous interpretation into Arabic will be provided.

Ground rules: The briefing will be recorded.

Connection information: to be provided when responding.

RSVP: Please RSVP by clicking here

Twitter: Join the #AFHubPress conversation and follow us on @AfricaMediaHub.

Background: Please see the media note linked here.

BIOGRAPHY:

Ambassador Michael (Mike) A. Hammer was appointed Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa on June 1, 2022 by Secretary Blinken. He previously served as United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2018 to 2022. He also served as Acting Senior Vice President of the National Defense University (NDU). And previously, he served as deputy commandant of the Eisenhower School of the NDU and also served as vice chancellor of the College of International Security Affairs.

Ambassador Hammer is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service Minister-Counsellor class. He most recently served as United States Ambassador to Chile from 2014 to 2016. He began his diplomatic career in 1988. Prior to his appointment to Chile, Ambassador Hammer served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from March 2012 to August 2013. He also served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Assistant Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. .

Prior to joining the Office of Public Affairs, Ambassador Hammer served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Director of Press and Communications, and Spokesperson for the National Security Council from January 2009 to January 2011. He previously served in the National Security Council as Deputy Spokesman from 1999 to 2000 and Director of Andean Affairs from 2000 to 2001.

Ambassador Hammer’s overseas assignments include Bolivia, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. His other State Department assignments include the Operations Center and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Ambassador Hammer has received several awards, including the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, the Department’s Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy, and several honorary awards. superiors.

Ambassador Hammer holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He also earned a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the National War College at National Defense University.

Ambassador Hammer grew up in Latin America, living in Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks French and Icelandic. Ambassador Hammer and his wife Margret Bjorgulfsdottir have three children.

LOGISTICS:

Participants must log in to join the conference 10 minutes early.

Entrants will be asked to enter their name, press affiliation and place of residence.

The speaker will make brief opening remarks, then the moderator will open the floor to questions.

Participants will be prompted to type their questions or let the moderator know in chat that they want to ask a question live. Journalists can also submit written questions in advance when registering on Eventbrite or by emailing afmediahub@state.gov.

If you encounter technical difficulties during the briefing, you can email afmediahub@state.gov to alert the moderator of any issues.