Mary Carlin Yates

Who is Mary Carlin Yates?

Mary Carlin Yates is a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. State Department and was one of two deputy commanders of the United States Africa Command until June 2009.

Yates earned her BA in English from Oregon State University and earned a Master's in Comparative East West Humanities from New York University, where she pursued her doctoral studies in Asian Affairs.

She served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi from 1999 until June 2002, and as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana from November 2002 to 2005.

Yates was named on September 28 as the Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Activities, United States Africa Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany where she served most recently as the Principal Advisor to the Commander, United States European Command. She has earned two State Department Superior Honor Awards and two Meritorious Honor Awards.

Her husband John M. Yates is U.S. Special Envoy to Somalia.