Chargé d'Affaires

Michael Alan Ratney

Michael Ratney is the Chargé d'Affaires at the American Embassy in Doha, Qatar.  Prior to arriving in Doha in August 2006, he was the Deputy Economic Counselor at the American Embassy in Mexico City from 2003 to 2006.  In 2004, Mr. Ratney served in Iraq, first as a Political Advisor for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, and then as the first Regional Coordinator at the Regional Embassy Office in Basrah.  In Basrah, he had day-to-day responsibility for establishing the first American diplomatic presence in southern Iraq following transfer of authority to the new Iraqi Government

Mr. Ratney joined the Foreign Service in 1990, and has served tours in Bridgetown, Barbados; Casablanca, Morocco; and in the State Department’s Bureau of Near East Affairs.  Following Arabic language training at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington and in Tunis, Tunisia, he served in Beirut, Lebanon.  He then coordinated economic affairs in the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 2001 to 2003.

Mr. Ratney joined the State Department in 1987 as a Presidential Management Intern, working in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, and at the U.S. Consulate General in Durban, South Africa.

Mr. Ratney has a BS in Mass Communication from Boston University (1983) and an MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University (1989).  His languages are Arabic, French, and Spanish.  He is married to Karen Sasahara, also a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, and currently serving in Baghdad, Iraq.