Lyra S. Carr assumed her duties as Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General in Halifax in July 2021, only the second female Consul General in the Post’s history.

A Foreign Service Officer since 2003, Lyra came to Halifax after serving as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Visa Services in Washington DC, where she managed interagency coordination and implementation of immigration policies.  Lyra’s also served in the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of the Comptroller, where she led interagency coordination to establish an independent financial account for the Bureau.  She spent a year of her tour as acting Comptroller, leading the office and managing Consular Affair’s USD $4 billion budget.

Her overseas assignments included Immigrant Visa Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, Consular Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Albania, Staff Assistant and Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, and Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Peru and the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic.  Throughout both her domestic and foreign assignments Lyra has been a passionate advocate of mentoring the next generation of Foreign Service Officers.

A native of southern California, Lyra is a graduate of Stanford University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Medieval Studies and a Master of Arts in German Studies. Lyra is the recipient of several State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor awards, as well as a special commendation for outstanding service in the civil division issued by U.S. Department of Justice.  She speaks Spanish and has studied German, Albanian, and Italian.

She is accompanied in Halifax by her husband, a retired Foreign Service Officer, their two sons, and their adopted cat from Albania.