Frances Dee Cook (born September 7, 1945, Charleston, West Virginia) was a career Foreign Service Officer who was the US Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi from 1980–1983, Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon, 1989–1993 and she was sworn in as the U.S.

[1][2] As Ambassador to Oman and Consul General in Alexandria, Egypt, she was the first female chief of mission in the Persian Gulf, and the first female head of post in the Middle East for the United States.

[1] After joining the Foreign Service in 1967 and completing language school, Cook’s first assignment was to be Special Assistant to Sargent Shriver, Ambassador to France from 1968–1969.

Her future posts included being a member of the U.S. Delegation to Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam, 1970–1971; U.S. Consulate General, Sydney, Australia, 1971–1973; U.S. Embassy, Dakar, Senegal, 1973–1975; Personnel Officer for Africa, USIA, 1975–1977; Director of the Press Office, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State, 1978–1980; Consul General, Alexandria, Egypt, 1983–1986; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Assistance, Bureau of Refugee Programs, 1986–1987; Director, Office of West Africa Affairs, Department of State, 1987–1989; and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security Affairs, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, 1993–1995.

[1] From 2010–2020, Cook served as a member of the board of trustees at The American College of the Mediterranean (ACM), an American-style degree-granting institution in Aix-en-Provence, France, which includes IAU College, a study abroad institute for undergraduates.