Burkina Faso, Benin, Liberia among 5 new ambassadors to Washington D.C.
Photo (L-R): Ambassador Agniola Ahouanmenou / © Embassy of Benin in Washington D.C.; Ambassador Al-Hassan Conteh / © Embassy of Liberia in U.S.; and Ambassador Kassoum Coulibaly / © White House.
Three West African countries, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Liberia are among a list of five countries with newly approved ambassadors to Washington’s diplomatic community, including Germany, and Malaysia, with each bringing unique expertise to strengthen their countries’ bilateral ties with the United States.
Burkina Faso’s new ambassador, Kassoum Coulibaly, presented his credentials to President Trump on July 24, filling the longest-vacant post. A former defence minister from 2022 to 2024 and ally of transitional President Ibrahim Traoré, Coulibaly showed strong U.S.-Burkina Faso relations despite ongoing extremist violence.
He noted that Burkina Faso has faced a severe security and humanitarian crisis for over a decade, with Traoré’s leadership driving progress in reclaiming territory and resettling displaced communities.
Liberia’s new ambassador, Al-Hassan Conteh, replaced Jeff Gongoer Dowana, who held the role since 2022. A veteran diplomat, Conteh previously served as Liberia’s ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, with concurrent accreditation to Benin and Equatorial Guinea, and was deputy dean of Nigeria’s diplomatic corps.
An academic, he led the University of Liberia from 2004 to 2008, and holds a bachelor’s in geography and demography from the university, plus a master’s and PhD in demography from the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught at its African Studies Centre.
Benin appointed Ambassador Agniola Ahouanmenou last month, succeeding Jean-Claude do Rego, who served since July 2020. Previously deputy chief of staff to Benin’s foreign minister from 2023 to 2025, Ahouanmenou holds a bachelor’s in commerce from McGill University, a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and an MBA from Wharton.
She has expressed her determination towards transforming Benin, aiming to revolutionize the government. “It keeps me up at night,” she wrote on her LinkedIn. “I either dream of transforming the way governments serve their citizens, or building transformative wellness products and services. I particularly enjoy living life between these two worlds.”
Others
Germany’s new ambassador, Jens Hanefeld, replaced Andreas Michaelis. A seasoned diplomat, Hanefeld served in Bulgaria from 1994 to 1997, in Washington from 1997 to 2000, and from 2009 to 2014 as minister and deputy chief of mission.
He also held senior roles in Berlin’s Federal Foreign Office from 2000 to 2009. After a decade as Volkswagen’s senior VP for international and trade policy, he was Germany’s ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union in 2024 before returning to Washington.
Malaysia’s new ambassador, Muhammad Shahrul Ikram bin Yaakob, succeeded Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. A career diplomat since 1988, Shahrul began in Malaysia’s foreign ministry, managing East Asian affairs. His postings include Beijing from 1991 to 1994, Washington as first secretary for economics from 1994 to 1998, and deputy head of mission in Austria from 2002 to 2005, with accreditation to Slovakia and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He later served as ambassador to Qatar from 2007 to 2010, Director-General of the ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat from 2013 to 2016, and foreign ministry secretary-general from 2019 to 2022.
Written by Abeeb Lekan Sodiq
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He’s as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
