Philip Goldberg


Philip Seth Goldberg is an American diplomat and government official who currently serves as U.S. Ambassador to Colombia. He served previously as Ambassador to the Philippines and Bolivia, and Chief of the U.S. Mission in UN-administered Kosovo. He has served in Washington as Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. From June 2009 until June 2010, he was Coordinator for Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1874 on North Korea. He has also been Charge d'affaires, a.i. at the U.S. embassies in Chile and Cuba. Goldberg holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service.
On May 6, 2019, President Donald Trump nominated Goldberg to be the United States Ambassador to Colombia. On August 1, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by voice vote. He presented his credentials to President Iván Duque Márquez on September 19, 2019.

Early life and education

Goldberg is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and is a graduate of The Rivers School and Boston University. Before joining the Foreign Service, Goldberg, who speaks Spanish, worked as a liaison officer between the city government of New York City and the United Nations and consular community.

Department of State appointments

Goldberg served overseas as a consular and political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and political-economic officer in Pretoria, South Africa. From 1994 to 1996, Goldberg served as the State Department's Desk Officer for Bosnia and a Special Assistant to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. As Special Assistant to Ambassador Holbrooke, Goldberg was a member of the American negotiating team in the lead-up to the Dayton Peace Conference and Chief of Staff for the American Delegation at Dayton. From 1996 to 1998, Goldberg served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State. From 1998 to 2000, he served as Executive Assistant to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. In 2001, Goldberg served as a senior member of the State Department team handling the transition from the Clinton to Bush Administrations. In 2000, Goldberg returned on temporary duty to Colombia to serve as the first coordinator for the U.S. contribution to Plan Colombia.
From January 2001 to June 2001, Goldberg served as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. From 2001-2004 he was Charge d'affaires, a.i. and then Deputy Chief of Mission in Chile. In 2018, Goldberg served as Charge d'affaires, a.i. at the US Embassy in Cuba. He has received numerous honors for his work including Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Rank awards, the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award, and the U.S. Intelligence Community's Silver Seal Medallion.