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.
-
The White House describes the deals being signed by two Gulf Arab states with Israel as a sign of a changing Middle East. But they're not of "the deal of the century" the U.S. was orignally seeking.
-
President Trump may be the only world leader speaking in person at the U.N. General Assembly this year — at a time when the U.S. looks isolated after pulling out of many international agreements.
-
The Trump administration says the small Arab state of Bahrain has answered its call to open formal relations with Israel. It comes as the White House has sought bigger regional players for such deals.
-
President Trump may be the only world leader in the room at this year's United Nations General Assembly. Others are sending their messages virtually.
-
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is mixing politics and diplomacy this week in an unprecedented way. He plans to speak to the Republican convention while on an official trip to the Middle East.
-
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to go to the U.N. Thursday to try to "snap back" sanctions on Iran. It'll be a hard sell with allies because the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal.
-
The U.S. "not only has a higher percentage of political ambassadors, but has a higher percentage ... who don't seem to be temperamentally or intellectually suited for the work," says an ex-diplomat. -
Some of President Trump's ambassadors are coming under scrutiny — an inspector general report calls for further investigation into alleged sexist and racist remarks by the U.S. ambassador to the U.K.
-
The U.S. has brokered a deal for formal relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates — a concession to Israel for not going ahead with plans to annex occupied territory.
-
Trump's ousting of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine became one of the incidents that led to his impeachment. Trump's new pick for the job faced the Senate on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing.
