Senate confirms Julie Staft as U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz – Julie Staft is set to become the new U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, as her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

According to the U.S. Congress website, Julie Staft, a diplomat from Ohio, "will become the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Kazakhstan". Her candidacy was reviewed and approved by the Senate on October 6. According to Cleveland's publication, of the senators who voted, 51 were "for" Staft’s nomination, and 47 were "against".

It’s important to note that when appointing ambassadors to foreign countries, the sending state must request agrément from the receiving country. In this case, the U.S. would need to request agrément from Kazakhstan. If Kazakhstan agrees to the nomination of Staft, she will officially be appointed U.S. Ambassador. It is not yet clear whether the U.S. has sent the request.

Agrément is the preliminary consent of a state to appoint a particular individual as head of a diplomatic mission in the receiving state.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Daniel Rosenblum, announced his resignation in December 2024 following his retirement after nearly 28 years of service in the U.S. Department of State.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump recommended Julie Staft for the position of U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan.

About Julie Staft:

Julie Staft is a career diplomat, a member of the Senior Foreign Service. She previously served as the managing director for visa services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Staft has worked at U.S. embassies in Russia, Poland, Ethiopia, Moldova, and Djibouti, and served in the National Security Council, coordinating efforts to protect Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moldova, Staft urged the citizens of Moldova to actively speak out against violence toward women and girls, emphasizing the importance of protecting human rights.

Staft is a fellow of the International Women's Forum (2021–2022) and a participant in the Seminar XXI Program at the MIT Center for International Studies (2014–2015).

Staft hails from Ohio and holds degrees from Case Western Reserve University and Duke University. She is fluent in Russian, Romanian, French, and Polish.