U.S. Embassy in Bosnia
and Herzegovina

United States Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Michael J. Murphy is the United States Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.  He presented his credentials on February 23, 2022.  Ambassador Murphy is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor.  He previously served in Sarajevo as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy from 2006 to 2009.

Prior to assuming his current duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Murphy served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from June 2018 until September 2021.  He covered European security, including the U.S. relationship with NATO and the OSCE; Arctic security; and U.S. bilateral relations with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

From 2017-2018, Ambassador Murphy served as Director of the Office for European Security & Political-Military Affairs in the Bureau of European & Eurasian Affairs.  He served as the Associate Dean of the Leadership and Management School at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center from 2015-2017.

Ambassador Murphy served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana, from 2012-2015, and as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., in Botswana from February 2014 to January 2015.  He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Priština, Kosovo, from 2009 to 2012.

Ambassador Murphy’s other overseas postings include London, United Kingdom; Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Lagos, Nigeria.  In Washington, D.C., he served as the Chief of Staff to both the Assistant Secretary of State for European & Eurasian Affairs and the Director General of the Foreign Service as well as Desk Officer for Bulgaria and for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Ambassador Murphy’s diplomatic career included participation in the Trans-Atlantic Fellowship Program from 2001-2002, serving in the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Office Director for Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1991, Ambassador Murphy worked in the U.S. Congress for three years as the Senior Legislative Aide to Congresswoman Marilyn Lloyd of Tennessee with responsibility for international affairs and defense issues.

Ambassador Murphy is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hamilton College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations.  He spent a year at the London School of Economics studying British history.

Ambassador Murphy was born in Rochester, New York, but moved to East Greenbush, New York, where he spent the bulk of his childhood, attended high school, and became a devoted New York Yankees and New York Giants fan.

Ambassador Murphy is married to Kimberly Murphy, a retired Foreign Service Officer, and the two are ardent dog lovers.  Tedi, their second dog, was a beloved family member from the day she was rescued on Jahorina Mountain in 2006 until she passed away in 2021.  Today, Ambassador and Mrs. Murphy have three dogs, Bravo, who is from Kosovo, Nikki, who is from Botswana, and Marley, their newest, who is from Sarajevo.