The White House announced Friday that Barack Obama has nominated Ken Hackett, the former president of Catholic Relief Services, as the US ambassador to the Holy See.
Hackett is a consultant to the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Global Development.
In 2012, after 40 years of service, he retired from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), where he was the President and CEO from 1993 to 2012. Prior to serving as President and CEO, Mr. Hackett was East African Regional Director from 1992 to 1993. From 1987 to 1992, he served as the Country Representative in the Philippines. From 1986 to 1987, he was Senior Director of External Affairs, and from 1978 to 1985, he was the African Regional Director. He began his career with CRS in 1972 as a staff member in Sierra Leone.
In addition to working at CRS, Mr. Hackett was North American Vice President of Caritas Internationalis from 1996 to 2004. From 1996 to 2011, he served as a member of the Pontifical Commission, Cor Unum, the Vatican body that coordinates the Church’s charitable work. From 2004 to 2009, he served on the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Mr. Hackett served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana from 1968 to 1971. He received a bachelor of science degree from Boston College.
