Michael Edward Ranneberger is a former United States Ambassador to Kenya. He was confirmed by congress on June 29, 2006 and began field duties on August 11, 2006. He left his post in May, 2011. He was also responsible for U.S. relations with Somalia. Mr. Ranneberger served as the Senior Representative on Sudan in the Bureau of African Affairs from January–August 2006. From 2004 to 2005, he was the Africa Bureau’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. He served as Special Advisor on Sudan from 2002 to 2004. From 1999 to 2002, he was Ambassador to the Republic of Mali. He is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. From July 1995 to July 1999, as Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, Mr. Ranneberger helped lead the Administration’s policy to promote a peaceful democratic transition in Cuba, in part by intensifying support for human rights activists and the development of independent civil society. Immediately prior to assuming the Cuba position, he spent six months in Haiti setting up and running an inter-agency Task Force on Justice and Security-Related Issues. In August 1994, he became Deputy Chief of Mission in Mogadishu. His service as Deputy Chief of Mission in Maputo from 1986 to 1989 included eight months as Charge during the civil war, at a time when the U.S. Agency for International Development’s emergency assistance program in Mozambique was one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. As Angola Desk Officer during 1981-1984 he worked as a member of Assistant Secretary Crocker’s team negotiating independence for Namibia and the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. From 1989-1992 he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Asuncion, where he was involved in supporting the post-Stroessner democratic transition. While Deputy Director for Central American Affairs during 1992-1994 he helped oversee implementation of the peace accords in El Salvador and efforts to end the internal conflict in Guatemala. After working as a Special Assistant to Under Secretary Armacost from 1984 to 1985, he was awarded an International Affairs Fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations. After graduating from Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Mr. Ranneberger obtained a B.A. from Towson State University in Baltimore and an M.A. in history from the University of Virginia. He is the recipient of seven Superior Honor Awards from the Department and a Presidential Meritorious Service Award. In 2019 Mr. Ranneberger's lobbying firm 'Gainful Solutions' was hired by South Sudan’s government to lobby the Trump administration to 'delay and ultimately block establishment of the hybrid court' which is part of South Sudan's 2018 peace agreement.
