Maria Olson to temporarily head US embassy in Athens

Maria Olson, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Athens and a career diplomat, will lead the US mission in the Greek capital as of Monday, following the departure of George Tsunis.
Olson will remain in place until the new candidate for the position, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor and Fox News TV host, is evaluated by Congress.
Guilfoyle was nominated by newly-sworn in US President Donald Trump last December.
Olson joined the US Department of State in 1998 and has served in Russia, Jordan, Syria, and Burundi, according to the information provided on the embassy’s website. She has also served in several assignments in Washington, DC, including as director of the State Department’s Office of Southern European Affairs with responsibility for Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta and as press spokesperson for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
She holds undergraduate degrees in French and journalism and a graduate degree in journalism. She speaks French and some Arabic and Russian. She and her husband have four children.
US Embassy, consular services closed Monday for holiday
The US Embassy in Athens and its Consular Section, the US Consulate General in Thessaloniki, and all US Government offices in Greece will be closed on Monday 20-01-2025.
The closure is in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day, which is a federal holiday in the US.
Kathimerini