Ambassador Kevin K. Sullivan is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. He is a former US ambassador and senior US government official with over three decades of experience in diplomacy and foreign policy. 

Ambassador Sullivan most recently served as deputy assistant secretary for South America at the Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, where he promoted democratic elections in Venezuela and helped design the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity initiative. From 2018 to 2023, he was US ambassador to Nicaragua, leading efforts to defend human rights and negotiate the release of political prisoners during a tumultuous time of popular protests and large-scale repression. He previously served as interim US permanent representative to the Organization of American States and as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Buenos Aires. Earlier assignments included senior diplomatic roles in Ethiopia and Malawi. Ambassador Sullivan led embassy teams responding to humanitarian and security emergencies and promoting longer-term economic development efforts, including through a first-ever Millennium Challenge Compact. 

He is a recipient of the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the Presidential Rank Award, and France’s Legion of Honor. He holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MPA from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Ambassador Sullivan is married and has two children.