Chargé d’affaires, a.i. Ellen Thorburn
Ellen Thorburn is the Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. to the Republic of Chad. She is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor.
Most recently, she was the Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. to the Republic of the Congo. Chargé Thorburn has served as Deputy Chief of Mission twice, in Khartoum, Sudan from 2018-2020, and in Lomé, Togo from 2008 -2011. She was Consul General in Yemen from 2013-15 where she facilitated the evacuation and ultimate closure of the post in 2015. She has also served in Budapest, Cotonou, Tallinn, Marseille, Port-au-Prince, and Brussels where she was the Senior Consular Representative to the European Union. In addition, she has served two tours with the Bureau of Consular Affairs in Washington D.C. and as Senior Advisor to the President of Corporate Council on Africa.
Ms. Thorburn earned a BA in French and a BA in Sociology/Economics from Michigan State University. She holds a Master’s in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a JD from George Washington University. She is a fluent French speaker, having studied in France and served in five Francophone countries. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, theater, swimming, reading and playing with her two cats.