George A. Krol
George Albert Krol (born 1956) is a U.S. diplomat and career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor. He served as the United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan from 2015 to 2018 (sworn in January 2015). He previously served as Ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2011 to 2014 and to Belarus from 2003 to 2006.
Krol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his home state is New Jersey. He attended St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City, earned a BA in history from Harvard University (magna cum laude), and earned BA and MA degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University. He is married to Melissa Welch.
He joined the Foreign Service in 1982 and has served in Poland, India, the Soviet Union/Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. In Washington, he has held roles such as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Director of the Office of Russian Affairs, and Special Assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for the New Independent States. He has taught at the National War College and participated in the State Department’s Senior Seminar. He speaks Russian and Polish and has received several State Department awards.
Krol was awarded Kazakhstan’s Order of Dostyk (Friendship) in 2018 and Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal in 2019.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:57 (CET).