Barbara J. Stephenson

Who is Barbara J. Stephenson?

Barbara J. Stephenson is the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London, and is acting as Charge d'Affaires following the departure of Ambassador Louis Susman. She is the former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and was appointed by President Barack Obama in the Summer of 2010.

Stephenson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, and has previously served as Deputy Coordinator for Iraq at the U.S. Department of State. She received her Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. in English all from the University of Florida.

In August 2009, Stephenson wrote in a diplomatic cable that Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli had asked her for wiretaps on his political opponents, and she complained of his "bullying style" and "autocratic tendencies". A copy of the cable was released in December 2010 by WikiLeaks. Martinelli's administration stated after the leak that "help in tapping the telephones of politicians was never requested" and that Stephenson was "mistaken" in her interpretation.