Michael (Mike) Sweeney joined the U.S. Department of State as a consular officer in 2001. He has spent more than 20 years focused on providing protection and assistance to U.S. citizens abroad and the concept of balancing secure borders with open doors for the United States.

Most recently, Mr. Sweeney served as the Consul General in Beirut, Lebanon Consular coordinating services to an estimated 60,000 U.S. citizens, heading crisis management preparations, and resuming visa operations following the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to serving in Beirut, he worked as an assignments officer in the Bureau of Global Talent Management, Career Development, and Assignments Office. Mike served as the Consular Chief in Tunis, Tunisia from 2011-13, during the beginning of the “Arab Spring” revolution in North Africa. He helped coordinate the response to assist U.S. citizens in Tunisia and Libya during this period while maintaining full visa operations for both countries during a time of dynamic security and political challenges.

Mike has also served in Laos, Thailand, and the Philippines. Prior to the Foreign Service, he was a refugee caseworker in Northern California and Thailand and worked at a community agricultural development center in Northeast Thailand from 1990-93. He speaks Thai, Lao, French, Arabic, and Indonesian.