— Domani Spero

On Friday, Secretary Kerry announced the creation of a Special Representative for the Arctic Region to help advance American interests in the Arctic:

The Arctic region is the last global frontier and a region with enormous and growing geostrategic, economic, climate, environment, and national security implications for the United States and the world.

Today I informed my two former Senate colleagues that here at the State Department we will soon have a Special Representative for the Arctic Region, a high-level official of stature who will play a critical role in advancing American interests in the Arctic Region, particularly as we prepare efforts for the United States to Chair the Arctic Council in 2015. President Obama and I are committed to elevating our attention and effort to keep up with the opportunities and consequences presented by the Arctic’s rapid transformation—a very rare convergence of almost every national priority in the most rapidly-changing region on the face of the earth.

The great challenges of the Arctic matter enormously to the United States, and they hit especially close to home for Alaska, which is why it is no wonder that Senator Begich’s very first piece of legislation aimed to create an Arctic Ambassador, or why as Foreign Relations Committee Chairman I enjoyed a close partnership with Senator Murkowski on a treaty vital to energy and maritime interests important to Alaska. Going forward, I look forward to continuing to work closely with Alaska’s Congressional delegation to strengthen America’s engagement in Arctic issues.

Apparently, Alaska’s senators — Begich, and Murkowski — have been pressing for an ambassador  to the Arctic.

“The bottom line is that the changes we see in the Arctic warrant a higher level of involvement from the U.S. and this position will allow us to better exercise leadership and vision in Arctic policy moving forward,” Senator Begich said in a statement.

The title is ready, just need to know the name of the appointee. Oh, and see the move-in ready office below. Best hurry before it melts.

Arctic Council Member States are Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States of America. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council rotates every two years between the eight member states.  Indigenous peoples also have permanent representation on the Council.  In May 2013, Canada assumed assumed the two-year chairmanship. The US last held the chairmanship in 1998-2000 and is scheduled to lead the council again in 2015-2017.

The State Department has yet to announce who will be appointed to this new post. The Special Representative position does not require Senate confirmation, so he/she will not be waiting for confirmation for a year.  There is also no danger of Senators asking questions like, “Have you been to the Arctic?”  or “Do you speak any of the Arctic region’s 40 indigenous languages?”

So hurry, apply now.

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Related articles

• U.S. to appoint special envoy to represent Arctic (thestar.com)
• State Department plans Arctic representative (usatoday.com)
• US to name special envoy for Arctic (vancouverdesi.com)
• At Begich’s request, Obama administration creating an envoy-to-the-Arctic position (hotair.com)
• U.S. creates Arctic ‘special representative’ position (cbc.ca)