Ambassador P. Michael McKinley (ret.)

Guest Author

Ambassador P. Michael McKinley (Ret.) is a senior counselor at The Cohen Group, where he provides strategic advice to companies on global geopolitical realities that impact their operations. He supports entry into new markets, government engagement strategies, and interpreting policy and regulation shifts domestically and internationally. He also heads the Latin America Practice.

Ambassador McKinley joined The Cohen Group in 2020 after a 37-year career at the Department of State. He held senior leadership positions in missions in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Afghanistan and concluded his career as senior adviser to the Secretary of State. As a four-time Ambassador, he led some of the largest US embassies in the world including Peru (2007–2010), Colombia (2010–2013), Afghanistan (2014–2016), and Brazil (2017–2018). Ambassador McKinley helped conclude free trade agreements with Peru and Colombia, and the Open Skies Agreement and the revival of the Defense Industry Dialogue with Brazil. He has also had extensive experience with regional conflicts and peace negotiations across three decades on three continents, to include as Ambassador in Colombia and Afghanistan.

Ambassador McKinley joined the US Foreign Service in 1982. Earlier assignments included Bolivia, the United Kingdom, Mozambique, Uganda, and Belgium in addition to positions at the State Department in Washington. Across these postings, he worked on conflicts in Central America, Southern Africa, and East Africa. As Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the US Mission to the European Union from 2004–2007, he helped conclude the EU-US accord on transatlantic air travel security and supported the expansion of cooperation on economic and regulatory issues affecting US trade and investment. As Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population, Migration, and Refugees from 2001–2004 in the aftermath of 9/11, Ambassador McKinley oversaw policy and programming for almost $700 million in annual USG assistance to the refugee resettlement program in the United States and to refugee populations in Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Ambassador McKinley earned a PhD from Oxford University in 1982. His book on colonial Venezuelan history is an acclaimed study of the period and has been published in both English and Spanish. His numerous articles on foreign policy have appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Politico, the Financial Times, and other publications. He is a non-resident senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ambassador McKinley speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and French.