Jimmy J. Kolker
Jimmy J. Kolker (born 1948) is an American diplomat. He was the ambassador to Burkina Faso from 1999 to 2002 and Uganda from 2002 to 2005. He was Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section at UNICEF’s New York headquarters from 2007 to 2011. From 2011 to 2017, Ambassador Kolker was Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC.
Jimmy J. Kolker | |
|---|---|
| 15th United States Ambassador to Uganda | |
| In office November 9, 2002 – September 30, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Martin George Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Steven A. Browning |
| 14th United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso | |
| In office November 16, 1999 – August 2, 2002 | |
| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Sharon P. Wilkinson |
| Succeeded by | J. Anthony Holmes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1948 (age 75–76) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Spouse | Britt-Marie Forslund |
| Alma mater | Carleton College Harvard University |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Ambassador Kolker was recalled to the State Department in 2021 as senior advisor to the Coordinator for Global Covid Response and Health Security, working part time. Outside of government, he serves on the boards of MANA Nutrition, the G4 Global Surgery Alliance, Building Tomorrow and Firelight Foundation. He is an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is an advisor to Last Mile Health, and to Texas Children's Hospital's Global HOPE pediatric cancer initiative and to the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem.
In June, 2019, Ambassador Kolker was the commencement speaker at Carleton College, "How To Be Prepared for the Jobs That Don't Yet Exist". He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the ceremony.