Pamela Hyde Smith

Pamela Hyde Smith held the position of U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova from 2001 to 2003. Until her retirement from the State Department in late 2005, she was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, having served prior to her Ambassadorship as Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in London, Press Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Cultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, in a first posting at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, and in several Washington positions. She joined the Foreign Service in 1975, working in the U.S. Information Agency until its merger with the Department of State in 1999. From 2003 through 2007, Amb. Smith taught Masters-level and undergraduate courses on Public Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Starting in 2007, Amb. Smith returned to the State Department for intermittent assignments leading overseas and domestic inspections for the Office of the Inspector General. Ms. Smith is from Tacoma, Washington. She was educated at Wellesley College, where she earned a B.A. in Art History. She worked in graphic design and public relations before joining the Foreign Service. Ms. Smith has two daughters attending university in the United States. She is the widow of retired Foreign Service Officer Sidney G. Smith Amb. Smith serves on the boards of Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and The Annie Wright School in Tacoma, WA.