Veteran U.S. diplomat and government official Tina S. Kaidanow passed away last Monday, Oct. 14. A daughter of Holocaust survivors who was raised in Baltimore, she was 59.
Kaidanow, who lived in Washington, D.C., served as a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service for more than three decades. She had assignments in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Kabul, as well as with the U.S. National Security Council.
In 2008, Kaidanow was appointed the first U.S. ambassador to Kosovo after that republic declared its independence from Serbia. During her yearlong assignment there, she helped foster strong ties between the United States and Kosovo.
“The contribution and systematic engagement of Ambassador Tina Kaidanow in the preparation of Kosovo for the declaration of independence was and remains irreplaceable,” said Skender Hyseni, Kosovo’s former foreign minister, in a statement. “Tina was a diplomat and strong woman who loved Kosovo and its people with all her being. Goodbye Tina. God bless you and may your soul have light!”
From Aug. 2009 to June 2011, Kaidanow served as a deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs. From September 2012 to October 2013, she served at the U.S. embassy in Kabul as the deputy chief of mission. According to Politico, in this capacity she vetoed a plan to prosecute Taliban commanders and their drug lord allies in U.S. courts for drug trafficking, due to concerns about Afghanistan’s political stability.
Most recently, Kaidanow served as a special representative for Guantanamo affairs, overseeing all matters pertaining to the transfer of detainees from the Guantanamo Bay facility to third countries.
“Tina was an extraordinary diplomat,” former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman wrote on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “She never hesitated to take on the toughest tasks, accept the biggest burdens, climb the highest mountains in front of all of us. She was brilliant, ironic, generous, funny; always crystal clear about the mission and the way forward. … I am a Baltimore gal myself and am so grateful to have known, worked with and so admired Tina.”
Kaidanow is survived by by her brother and sister-in-law, Eric and Patricia Kaidanow; niece, Mia Kaidanow; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. She was predeceased by her parents, Esther and Howard Kaidanow.
Funeral services will be held at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, on Monday, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m. Interment at Beth El Memorial Park, 9633 Liberty Road in Randallstown
Contributions in Kaidanow’s memory may be sent to the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, 4 West Red Oak Lane, Suite 204, White Plains, New York 10604.
“We mourn the recent passing of our friend and colleague Ambassador Tina Kaidanow,” posted the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital. “A career member of the U.S. diplomatic service, Ambassador Kaidanow left an enduring legacy in the region as she devoted her career to advancing peace and security, in particular supporting the people of Kosovo achieve their vision of a sovereign, multiethnic, and successful democracy. We will miss her greatly. We send our condolences to her family and all those who were privileged to know her.”
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