A Dame of the Order of Malta, Michele B. Bowe is the Ambassador of the Order to Palestine. Additionally, she serves as President of the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Ambassador Bowe was mostly raised outside of the United States, spending her early years in Amman, Jordan before returning to attend and graduate from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (BSFS) and Georgetown University’s Arab Studies master’s program (MAAS). Post graduation, Ambassador Bowe worked as an Economist specializing in the Jordan River Valley region while serving in several leadership roles within the Order of Malta, including as the Hospitaller for the Federal Association and as a Regional Hospitaller.
In October 2013, Ambassador Bowe was elected President of the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation. She was appointed the Order’s Ambassador to Palestine in 2017.
Ambassador Bowe previously served as a director for the Order of Malta’s Fund for Forgotten People and for Malteser International, on the Boards of Catholic Charities- Archdiocese of Washington, the San Miguel School, and Jesuit Refugee Services. Her humanitarian efforts earned an invitation as a keynote speaker for the International Strategic Conference in Rhodes for the Order of Malta in 2014. She is regularly invited to national and international news programs and onto several nationally syndicated radio programs to speak about life in Palestine, Christians in the Holy Land, Humanitarian Diplomacy, Vocation to Marriage, and topics related to the Order of Malta. Ambassador Bowe is the recipient of several awards including the James Cardinal Hickey Award, The Archdiocese of Washington Manifesting the Kingdom Award, The Star of Bethlehem award, the Pro Merito Melitensi with Crown medal, and the Pro Merito Melitensi with Plaque medal.
Ambassador Bowe and her husband James Bowe live in the Washington, DC area.