United States President, Joseph R. Biden, has announced his intent to nominate Mark Christopher Toner for the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Liberia.
President Biden made the announcement on March 27, 2023, and if confirmed by the U.S. Senate Toner will replace Ambassador Michael McCarthy, who has served in that capacity since January 2021.
Mark Christopher Toner, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as the Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France.
Previously, Toner was a Senior Advisor at the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and a Senior Faculty Advisor at the National Defense University.
Earlier, Toner held positions as the State Department’s Deputy Spokesperson, Acting Spokesperson, and as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of European Affairs. He has also served as the Director of Press Operations in the Bureau of Public Affairs and Director of Press and Public Affairs in the Bureau of European Affairs.
Toner was also Spokesperson at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. Prior to joining the State Department, Toner served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa.
He earned his Bachelor’s from the University of Notre Dame and his Master’s from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. He speaks French and Polish.
He is expected to replace Ambassador Michael McCarthy, who arrived in Liberia on January 6, 2021.
Ambassador McCarthy was nominated by President Donald Trump to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Liberia on June 2, 2020 to replace then Ambassador Christine Elder. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 18, 2020.
Ambassador McCarthy is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. Previously, he served as Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General, Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also served as the Director of the Office of Retirement in the Bureau of Human Resources in the State Department and the Deputy Chief of Mission for Embassy Juba in South Sudan.