Fleur Cowan, SSP'02

“I credit SSP for taking me from history and theory to strategy and practice. In addition to outstanding professors, I will always value what I learned from my talented fellow classmates, many of whom were already experienced military, intelligence, and foreign policy practitioners. Bringing the real world into the classroom environment made my academic studies directly relevant, facilitated the successful start of my career, and sparked life-long friendships.”

Fleur Cowan is the State Department Senior Advisor to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Previously she served as Deputy Principal Officer at Consulate General Istanbul. Prior to Türkiye she was posted to U.S. Embassy Paris in the Political Section and before that was Country Information Officer and Spokesperson for the U.S. Mission in Islamabad. She joined the Department of State in 2002 and is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Earlier assignments include as a Political Officer in London, Deputy Cultural Attaché in Rome, Spokesperson and Press Officer in Kabul, and with the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization in Washington, DC. Other postings include the Holy See and Karachi. Ms. Cowan has an M.A. in International Relations from St. Andrews University, Scotland, and an M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. She grew up outside of Seattle and speaks Italian, French, Turkish and Farsi.