2006 Press Releases

U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, Julie Finley, Visits Turkmenistan

May 5, 2006

The U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, Julie Finley, paid an official visit to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 4-5, 2006. On May 4, Ambassador Finley met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Rashid Meredov, Minister of Justice Ashyrgeldi Gulgarayev, scholars of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, and officials of the Council for Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan. In her meetings, she raised the U.S. Government’s strong support for human rights and its desire for enhanced educational opportunities in Turkmenistan, as well as regional cooperation in border security and energy. Ambassador Finley met with nongovernmental groups and alumni of U.S. Government exchange programs to discuss their ideas and projects for the role of civil society in Turkmenistan.

Regarding her visit to Turkmenistan Ambassador Finley stated: "I think a little more freedom and Turkmenistan could be really great."

Ambassador Finley was nominated to head the U.S. Mission to the OSCE by U.S. President George Bush and was sworn in in August 2005. Before assuming her duties in Vienna, Ambassador Finley was a Trustee of the National Endowment for Democracy, a Trustee of the American Academy in Berlin and Chairman of the Project on Transitional Democracies. She was a Founder and Board member of the U.S. Committee on NATO and Chairman of the Host Committee for the 2002 Prague NATO Summit. Ambassador Finley has been active in Republican politics, serving as District of Columbia Republican Party Chairman from 1992 through 2000 and District of Columbia Republican National Committeewoman from 2000 through 2004. She has also worked for the television news agencies NBC and ABC News and for The Washington Post. Ambassador Finley attended Vassar College and resides in Washington, D.C. She has two sons.