On April 22, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Michael Ratney as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On April 25, 2022, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee received the nomination.

Michael Alan Ratney of Massachusetts, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is the Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. He recently served as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Previously, Ratney was the Dean of the School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute. Prior to that, he was on the faculty of the National Defense University. He served as the State Department’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and was the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria. Earlier, Ratney was the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Media in the State Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs. Prior to that, he served as Spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Other assignments include serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, as well as tours in Mexico City, Baghdad, Beirut, Casablanca, Bridgetown, and Washington, D.C.

Ratney earned a B.S. from Boston University and an M.A. from the George Washington University. He is the recipient of multiple State Department performance awards, including a Presidential Meritorious Service award. He speaks Arabic and French.