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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A donors' conference in Tokyo this past week revealed the limits on international aid to Iraq. Instead of new promises, wealthy nations promised only to do a better job of meeting past pledges of support. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says Iraq is on track to hold elections in January. But U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicts continuing violence and said some areas may be too dangerous to permit voting. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.
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Secretary of State Colin Powell for the first time labels as genocide the atrocities Arab militias are committing against black African farmers in western Sudan. Powell spoke as the United States is proposing a U.N. resolution threatening sanctions against Sudan. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
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The Bush administration is trying to ease the mounting tensions between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, exhorting Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to show restraint during meetings in Washington. Georgia is trying to re-assert control over two breakaway regions, where Russia has aided separatists. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
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The Sept. 11 commission's final report suggests changes to U.S. foreign policy, particularly with regard to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, aimed at trying to win what it calls the war of ideas in the Islamic world. But it avoids controversial elements of the Bush administration's Iraq policy. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.
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President Bush hopes NATO countries will assist in the reconstruction of Iraq. The president and other leaders are in Turkey for two days of sessions among NATO member nations. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
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Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Africa next week to examine the situation in the Darfur region in Western Sudan, where government-backed militias are accused of carrying out rape, murder and forced evacuations against black farming communities. U.S. officials say they are investigating whether the situation amounts to genocide, but a growing number of lawmakers say the case is already clear. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.
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The goal of the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority was to put Iraq on a path toward democracy and a market economy. But as the United States prepares to hand over sovereignty to Iraqis, critics say the CPA has fallen far short in its efforts to ensure Iraq's economic, political and security future. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.
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Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has nominated a four-star general to take command of U.S. forces in Iraq. Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. would replace Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez. Colleagues say Casey has demonstrated the ability to work closely with U.S. diplomats, a skill that will be needed in Iraq when the U.S. embassy goes into business in July. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
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The Pentagon announces new procedures for investigating the deaths of people in U.S. military custody. The new rules call for every death to be reported to military investigators and the Armed Forces medical examiner, who will decide if an autopsy is required. The guidelines are seen as an attempt to quell criticism of detainee deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.