Aldona Zofia Wos (August 2004 - December 2006)

Aldona Zofia Wos

Ambassador Aldona Zofia Wos was sworn in on August 13, 2004, by Secretary of State Colin Powell as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Estonia., and she presented her credentials to the President of Estonia Arnold Rüütel on September 2, 2004. She concluded her tour as Ambassador on December 17, 2006.

During her tenure, Ambassador Wos focused on winning the hearts and minds of the next generation of Estonian leaders, Russian integration, HIV/AIDS prevention in Estonia, and the preservation of Estonian culture. Ambassador Wos personally visited all 15 Estonian counties, 80 high schools and countless other Estonian institutions. For her service and dedication to Estonia, Ambassador Wos was given the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class, by President Toomas-Hendrik Ilves, as well as the Distinguished Service Cross of the Estonian Defense Forces by Brigadier General Alar Laneman and the Cross of Merit of the Estonian National Police Board by National Police Commissioner Raivo Aeg.

Ambassador Wos was born in Warsaw, Poland. She earned her medical degree at the Warsaw Medical Academy, and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine in New York. Her experiences as a physician include private practice, corporate medicine, attending physician duties, clinical care, teaching and consulting for both hospitals and private industry.

Ambassador Wos is the daughter of Paul Zenon Wos, who is a survivor of Flossenburg Concentration Camp, former member of the Polish Home Army (AK) and recipient of “Righteous Among the Nations” medal from Yad Vashem, among other distinguished awards. As a child of a survivor, Ambassador Wos is passionate about presenting and preserving full and accurate information about the Polish experience during World War II. In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Ambassador Wos to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and was re-appointed in 2004.

Ambassador Wos served on numerous boards of philanthropic and community organizations including the United Way of Greater Greensboro, Family Services of the Piedmont, Hospice Palliative Care of Greensboro, and the National Conference of Community of Justice, Triad Stage Theatre and the Sterling South Bank & Trust Company.

In June 2006, the Insitute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. presented Ambassador Wos with an honorary Doctorate of Laws.

Ambassador Wos and her husband, Louis DeJoy, have one set of twins.