Mogadishu (AX) – U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated career diplomat Devin Kennington as the next U.S. ambassador to Somalia, moving to fill a post that has stood vacant since former Ambassador Richard H. Riley was recalled in late 2025.
The nomination was part of a broader list of diplomatic appointments sent by the White House to the U.S. Senate. White House records formally name Kennington as the nominee for “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary” to the Federal Republic of Somalia.
- Advertisement -
Kennington is expected to succeed Riley, who served as ambassador from 2024 until his recall to Washington in December 2025 amid wider changes to U.S. diplomatic leadership under the Trump administration.
Since Riley left the post, Justin Davis has served as chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, overseeing the mission while the ambassadorial position remained unfilled.
Kennington entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 2011 and has since held a range of diplomatic assignments. His previous posts include vice consul in São Paulo, Brazil; consular affairs chief at the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti; and chief of American Citizen Services in Hong Kong.
His most recent position was chief of the Great Lakes Unit and senior Democratic Republic of Congo desk officer at the U.S. Department of State, where he focused on Central Africa.
Those assignments have provided Kennington with experience in Africa and the Horn of Africa, though no previous Somalia-specific diplomatic role has been publicly identified.
His nomination comes as Somalia and the United States continue close cooperation on security, efforts to counter Al-Shabaab, stabilization and wider regional issues across the Horn of Africa.
