Jean Mary Wilkowski (August 28, 1919 – July 27, 2016) was the first woman to serve as an American ambassador to an African country, when she was posted to Zambia from 1972 until 1976.

[12] She organized Duke Ellington's visit to Zambia in 1973, and negotiated a Food for Peace loan from the United States.

[13] Wilkowski later served as the American coordinator of preparations for the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development in 1977.

[14] She was the first ambassador to lend collected artifacts to the National Museum of American Diplomacy, and after her death, her estate made the loans into permanent donations.

[16] Her autobiography, Abroad for Her Country: Tales of a Pioneer Woman Ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service (2008), was published by the University of Notre Dame Press.