Her decision to retire was taken in the same month in which the Trump administration declared diplomatic war on South Africa, and announced that it intended to overhaul the foreign service. (Photo: United States Embassy)
Dana Brown, the deputy chief of mission at the United States embassy in South Africa, has decided to retire from the foreign service in March.
“The Chargé d’Affaires to US Mission South Africa Dana Brown is retiring from the US foreign service in March and returning to the United States to spend more time with her family after a notable career in international diplomacy,” an embassy official told the Mail & Guardian.
“The US department of state has selected Mr David Greene, the current deputy chief of mission in Abuja, Nigeria, to serve as chargé d’affaires at the US mission to South Africa, ensuring continuity in leadership and the advancement of US priorities.”
It is reliably understood that Brown’s mother has been unwell. Her decision to retire comes only six months after she took up the posting in South Africa in 2024. She is in her mid-50s and joined the foreign service in 2000, two years after joining the state department.
Her decision to retire was taken in the same month in which the Trump administration declared diplomatic war on South Africa, and announced that it intended to overhaul the foreign service.
In an executive order signed on 7 February, President Donald Trump suspended all donor aid to South Africa. He accused the government of championing terrorism abroad and fomenting racial violence at home, and offered Afrikaners refuge in the US.
A White House communique issued on the same day said: “The United States will establish a plan to resettle disfavoured minorities in South Africa discriminated against because of their race as refugees.”
US diplomats in Pretoria were instructed to disseminate that text.
Within days, the embassy was compelled to issue another missive announcing that the state department was coordinating with that of homeland security to “promote and prioritise humanitarian relief, including consideration of eligibility for admission and resettlement to the United States for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination”.
The former US ambassador to Pretoria, Reuben Brigety, resigned in January. Brown has since served as acting chargé d’affaires, pending the nomination of a successor.
According to the diplomatic rumour mill, Breitbart editor-at-large Joel Pollak, a vocal critic of the Ramaphosa administration, is a potential candidate.
Brown’s previous diplomatic postings included Portugal, Colombia, Kosovo and Cuba.
The embassy said her 27-year career was dedicated to strengthening US partnerships around the world.
“The US mission to South Africa has thrived under her leadership.”