Africa: Former CIA Analyst Now Top U.S. Africa Official at State; Dealmaking Dominates as Conflicts Spread

Washington, DC — The Africa Bureau at the State Department has a new top official, Nick Checker. Unlike his recent predecessors who were career diplomats, he has been at State for only four months, having served for the previous decade as a military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He spent part of last 2025 working in the White House as deputy executive secretary on the National Security Council (NSC) staff.

African developments are mostly overshadowed by highly publicized…