J. Chris Karber has taken up the position of Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, Finland, as of July 2025. He arrived in Helsinki to serve as the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission.
Karber is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service. From 2023 to 2025, he was the Acting Executive Director for both the European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau and the International Organization Affairs Bureau. Between 2020 and 2023, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro. Before that, he was Deputy Director of the Regional Support Center at the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany from 2016 to 2019, where he supported U.S. posts across Europe with training and management solutions.
Since joining the Foreign Service in 1998, Karber has held various diplomatic assignments. His roles have included consular officer in India, economic officer in Brazil, and management positions in Portugal, Mozambique, and Bulgaria. In Washington, he worked as Angola Desk Officer, Special Assistant, and Post Management Officer within the Bureau of African Affairs.
Karber has also contributed to international education by serving on school boards in Sofia and Podgorica and recently chaired an Application Development Group.
Originally from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Karber previously worked for the American Red Cross in Denver and for the U.S. Senate. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School and a bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta. He is married with one daughter.