Kenton Keith
Senior Vice President, Meridian International Center
Ambassador Kenton Keith
assumed the duties of
Senior Vice President of Meridian
International Center
in late 1997 after a career as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States
Information Agency.
He retired from USIA with the rank of Career Minister. At the time of his retirement, Ambassador Keith was Director of USIA’s Office of North African, Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, managing field operations, public diplomacy activities, and the budget for the Agency’s largest geographical bureau. From1992 to 1995, he served as Ambassador to the State of Qatar.
During his government service, Ambassador Keith received two Presidential meritorious service awards and various individual and group superior and meritorious honor awards, including one for his work at the 1991 Middle East peace conference in Madrid. In November 2001, the Ambassador was recalled to the Department of State to serve as Special Envoy to Islamabad where he set up and directed the Coalition Information Center in Pakistan.
He served as spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition during the period of major combat operations in Afghanistan. He serves on the boards of the American Field Service, the Council on International Educational Exchange, and the conflict resolution organization Partners for Democratic Change.
Ambassador Keith lectures extensively on public diplomacy, international education, and Middle East Affairs.
He serves on the New Mexico State University’s International Relations Institute advisory board.
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Ambassador Keith is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a major in International Relations.
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