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As consequential Western diplomats go, Meg Whitman, the outgoing American ambassador to Kenya, will go down as one of the most memorable, if controversial, despite serving for only two years. Her resignation came following Donald Trump's stunning comeback to the White House in November 2024.
It is not every day that a billionaire with one of the most colorful resumes—in a career that spans from Silicon Valley to Hollywood to politics—leaves her cushy and gilded life to work as an ambassador in Africa. From the outset, her appointment came as a surprise, given that her resume was thin on diplomatic duties, even though she has been active in American politics and was once billed potentially to be the first female president of the United States. She worked with Mitt Romney in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
Whitman arrived in Kenya in July 2022, ahead of the August general elections, and quickly immersed herself in the messy Kenyan political landscape. She was seen as having taken the Kenya Kwanza side, complicating her relationship with Kenyans who supported Raila Odinga’s Azimio faction.
She is not the first outspoken American ambassador to Kenya. In the 60-odd years Kenya has enjoyed a steady diplomatic relationship with America, there have been outspoken ambassadors. Smith Hempstone (1989-93) was a thorn in the side of KANU, calling for the resumption of multiparty politics as the Cold War came to an end in the early 1990s. Prudence Bushnell (1996-99) pushed for democratic reforms and survived the 1998 American Embassy bombing. Michael Ranneberger (2006-11) saw Kenya through the 2007/08 post-election violence and the installation of the new constitution.
By dint of their position, American ambassadors in any country are always highly visible figures, whose every word and action are watched keenly by the public. Those who have been critical of the government, especially on corruption, democracy, and human rights issues, are often viewed favorably by the public and treated with scorn by regime apologists. A notable example is Sir Edward Clay, the former British High Commissioner to Kenya, who was vocal about endemic corruption in Mwai Kibaki’s first term. He famously labeled some senior officials in Kibaki’s regime as gluttonous to the point of "vomiting all over our shoes." This angered the Kenyan government, where he became persona non grata.
Meg Whitman has been a vocal supporter of the Kenya Kwanza regime, so much so that opposition leader Raila Odinga called her a "rogue ambassador" and told her, "Kenya is not the United States, and it is not a colony of the United States." She was defended by Kenya Kwanza allied politicians. Eventually, she reconciled with Raila, who has since joined the Ruto government.
For Whitman, a businesswoman to the core, her focus was primarily on deepening the business ties between Kenya and America. Where Presidents Kibaki and Kenyatta leaned both East and West for development partners, President Ruto has leaned heavily on America. He made a state visit to America in early 2024, courtesy of Whitman’s efforts. During her brief tenure, more deals between Kenya and the USA on trade, health, and security were signed, and Kenya became the first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa. Under her leadership, total trade volume between Kenya and the US hit $1.4 billion in 2023—a 35% increase from previous years. Thanks to her relentless efforts and the consular team at the Nairobi embassy, applicants now enjoy reduced visa appointment wait times. Since August 2022, the Embassy has cut the wait time for a Non-Immigrant Visa appointment from more than two years to just over two months.
"I am proud of leading a people-centered agenda that saves lives, increases security, and creates economic opportunities for Kenyans and Americans," she said in her statement when she resigned this past Wednesday. Whitman helped deliver emergency funding to aid those affected by floods in 2023 and contributed to the fight against malaria, HIV, and MPOX. She also played a role in promoting Kenya as the Silicon Savannah, drawing from her experience in Silicon Valley, having been the CEO of tech giants such as eBay and HP . Through her connections with the American Chamber of Commerce, she sought to pitch Kenyan business to American investors. Her 'Why Africa, Why Kenya?' campaign successfully attracted American investments, particularly in technology and infrastructure sectors.
Under Whitman's tenure, a landmark achievement was orchestrating President Ruto's 2024 State Visit to the United States—the first for any African leader in 16 years. The visit yielded several transformative deals: Microsoft partnered with G42 to develop a pioneering 1-gigawatt data center powered by Kenya's geothermal resources, while Coca-Cola committed $175 million to a new bottling facility. Both projects promise significant employment opportunities for Kenyans.
Beyond business, the visit strengthened bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors. Key agreements included educational partnerships aimed at nurturing Kenya's next generation of tech innovators, comprehensive police reform initiatives, and enhanced collaboration in the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS. These agreements marked a significant shift in US-Kenya relations, elevating the partnership beyond traditional aid to strategic cooperation.
Despite her successes, Whitman's tenure was not without controversy. By June 2024, the Gen Z protest against tax hikes had reached a crescendo. Traditionally, this is where the Western diplomatic community thrives, but she remained conspicuously silent even as abductions and killings intensified. It took more than a week for Western diplomats to comment on the violence, earning the ire of Kenyans.
Born Margaret Cushing Whitman in 1956, she was raised in New York. She attended Princeton University, studying Mathematics and Science, hoping to become a doctor. However, a summer spent selling advertisements for Business Today Magazine led her to switch to Economics. She also obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School. Whitman began her career as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble in Ohio before moving to Bain & Company , where she rose to become senior vice president. She later served as vice president of strategic planning at the The Walt Disney Company and held senior positions at Stride Rite Corporation, Florists' Transworld Delivery, and Hasbro ’s Playskool Division.
In 1998, Whitman became the CEO of eBay, where she grew the company from 30 employees and $4 million in revenue to 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue. She also oversaw eBay's acquisition of Skype for $4.1 billion, which was later sold to Microsoft t for $8.5 billion. After leaving eBay in 2007, she was inducted into the U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2008. She was named one of the top five most powerful women by Fortune Magazine, the eighth best-performing CEO of the decade by Harvard Business Review, and one of the 50 people who shaped the decade by the Financial Times.
In 2009, she joined Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) board of directors and became CEO in 2011. During her tenure, she recommitted the company to its personal computer business. However, her performance at HP was not as stellar, and in 2013, Bloomberg named her the "Most Underachieving CEO." She resigned from HP in 2017 and went on to be the CEO of Quibi, a short-form media content app that ultimately failed within five months of its launch.
Whitman has served on various boards and holds a stake in FC Cincinnati . She is married to Griffith Harsh IV, Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of California, Davis, and they have two sons. With such a long and checkered career, will she go back to politics? In 2010, she ran for governor of California, spending $144 million of her own money but ultimately losing to Jerry Brown. A Republican until 2016, she later supported Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, who appointed her ambassador to Kenya.
Environment CS Aden Duale praised her efforts in strengthening Kenya-US bilateral relations across key sectors including security, trade, investment, health, and technology. "I have no doubt that our 60 years of partnership will continue to strengthen and serve Americans and Kenyans as we aim to build more prosperous, healthy, secure, and democratic nations," she said in her resignation statement. As she leaves, Kenyans wait to see who Donald Trump, now president again, will nominate and what politics they will play with his conservative regime.