Michele Kelemen
Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
As Diplomatic Correspondent, Kelemen has traveled with Secretaries of State from Colin Powell to Mike Pompeo and everyone in between. She reports on the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy and before that the Obama and Bush administration's diplomatic agendas. She was part of the NPR team that won the 2007 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for coverage of the war in Iraq.
As NPR's Moscow bureau chief, Kelemen chronicled the end of the Yeltsin era and Vladimir Putin's consolidation of power. She recounted the terrible toll of the latest war in Chechnya, while also reporting on a lighter side of Russia, with stories about modern day Russian literature and sports.
Kelemen came to NPR in September 1998, after eight years working for the Voice of America. There, she learned the ropes as a news writer, newscaster and show host.
Michele earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Russian and East European Affairs and International Economics.
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President Bush tightened U.S. sanctions against Sudan on Tuesday, saying Darfurians deserve the help. It has been three years since his administration first called the conflict genocide. The action bars 31 more companies from accessing the U.S. financial system and targets three individuals.
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The U.N. Security Council votes to toughen sanctions on Iran, which is being punished for refusing to halt its uranium-enrichment programs. The measures approved Saturday include a ban on exports of firearms.
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Senate confirmation hearings begin for diplomat Ryan Crocker as the next ambassador to Baghdad. President Bush picked career foreign-service officers for that job, and for the ambassador to Afghanistan. The men look likely to be confirmed quickly.
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An approaching African Union summit may feature a showdown with Sudan over the crisis in its Darfur region. New U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is expected to press Sudan to let the U.N. help the African Union's beleaguered peacekeeping force.
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Jerusalem to start a Middle East tour aimed at nudging Israelis and Palestinians toward peace talks. She has no specific proposal to offer, and U.S. relations with Iran complicate the mission.
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South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon starts work today as the new secretary-general of the United Nations. He says he will pay particular attention to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
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President Bush defended his diplomatic strategy with North Korea at a news conference Wednesday, saying bilateral talks with the nation during the Clinton administration just didn't work to curb its nuclear ambitions.
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President Bush urges the U.N. General Assembly to support "the forces of moderation in the Middle East." Addressing the Iranian people, he said its rulers are the greatest obstacles to Iran's progress. Hours later, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his policies.
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President Bush addresses the United Nations General Assembly with a speech advocating the spread of democracy in the Middle East. But he's likely to face a skeptical audience that is critical of the U.S. policies in Iraq and Iran.
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U.N. diplomats had hoped several thousand French troops would join the new peacekeeping force in Lebanon. To their disappointment, President Jacques Chirac announces that France will add only 200 troops to its 200 peacekeepers who are already part of the U.N. force in Lebanon. Diplomats fear that France's decision will have a chilling effect on the effort to put a robust force in place.