Category Archives: Ambassadors

Confirmations: Ambassadors, FS Lists, and @USAID Nominees

May 28, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Foreign Service, FSOs, Political Appointees, State Department, U.S. Missions, USAID Tags: , ,

 

The following State Department and USAID nominees were confirmed by the full Senate on May 23, 2019.

AMBASSADORS

2019-05-23 PN598 MACEDONIA | Kate Marie Byrnes, of Florida, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of North Macedonia.

2019-05-23 PN122 ECUADOR | Michael J. Fitzpatrick, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Ecuador.

2019-05-23 PN520 SLOVAK REPUBLIC | Bridget A. Brink, of Michigan, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Slovak Republic.

2019-05-23 PN521 ACBO VERDE | John Jefferson Daigle, of Louisiana, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cabo Verde.

2019-05-23 PN522 TURKMENISTAN | Matthew S. Klimow, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Turkmenistan.

2019-05-23 PN126 ICELAND | Jeffrey Ross Gunter, of California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Iceland.

2019-05-23 PN124 OSCE | James S. Gilmore, of Virginia, to be U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the rank of Ambassador.

 

FOREIGN SERVICE LISTS

2019-05-23 PN519 Foreign Service  | Nominations beginning Kenneth H. Merten, and ending Kevin M. Whitaker, which 7 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on March 25, 2019.

2019-05-23 PN604 Foreign Service  | Nomination for Lisa Anne Rigoli, which nomination was received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on April 10, 2019.

2019-05-23 PN607 Foreign Service | Nominations beginning Timothy Ryan Harrison, and ending Rachel Lynne Vanderberg, which 5 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on April 10, 2019.

 

USAID

2019-05-23 PN101  | Richard C. Parker, of North Carolina, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

2019-05-23 PN105 | John Barsa, of Florida, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

 

#

Advertisements

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Hosts #GameofThrones Party as Chained Dragon

May 28, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Photo of the Day, U.S. Missions Tags: , , ,

 

 

#

U.S. Mission Iraq Gets a New Ambassador After Mandatory Evacuation of Non-Emergency Personnel

May 17, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Consular Work, Evacuations, Foreign Service, Hotspots, Realities of the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions, US Embassy Baghdad Tags: , , , ,

 

 

On May 16, the day after the State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. Government employees from Iraq, both at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Ambassador Matthew Tueller as the next Ambassador to Iraq. State  also issued a new Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory for Iraq due to “due to terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”

We could not recall Mission Iraq  ever going on “ordered departure” (mandatory evacuation).  On June 15, 2014, the State Department went on partial “temporary relocation” of USG personnel from Embassy Baghdad to Basrah, Erbil and Amman, Jordan (see US Mission Iraq: Now on Partial “Temporary Relocation” To Basra, Erbil & Amman (Jordan).  In August 2014, it relocated additional Baghdad/Erbil Staff to Basrah and Amman (Jordan). Note that these “temporary relocations” occurred around the targeted airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists. The State Department went out of its way to avoid the use of the words “authorized departure”, “ordered departure” or for that matter “mandatory evacuation” in describing the movement of its staff that summer.  In September 2018, there was a Mandatory Evacuation For US Consulate General Basrah but limited to Southern Iraq.

As recently as March 31, 2019, in the LEAD IG REPORT TO THE U.S. CONGRESS says:

USCENTCOM reported to the DoD OIG that Iranian activity in Iraq has not changed from last quarter.404 Iranian-backed groups continue to monitor Coalition operations, personnel, and facilities, publish false or misleading stories about Coalition activity in the media, and, through allies within the Iraqi Council of Representatives, support legislation to compel the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.405 CJTF-OIR reported that Iran and Iran-backed groups prefer to try to diminish U.S. and Coalition presence in Iraq through soft power means rather than through direct military confrontation.406

404. USCENTCOM, response to DoD OIG request for information, 3/26/2019.
405. CJTF-OIR, response to DoD OIG request for information, 3/26/2019.
406. USCENTCOM, response to DoD OIG request for information, 3/25/2019

 

U.S. Senate Confirms Matthew Tueller as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq

May 17, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Confirmations, FSOs, State Department, U.S. Missions, U.S. Senate Tags: , , ,

 

 

#

U.S. Embassy Vienna Partners With McDonald’s to Assist U.S. Citizens in Need, Cue the McJokes

May 17, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Americans Abroad, Consular Work, Social Media, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment
U.S. Embassy Vienna Partners With McDonald’s to Assist U.S. Citizens in Need, Cue the McJokes

 

 

 

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Vienna (@usembvienna) announced on FB that the U.S. Ambassador to Austria Trevor D. Traina signed a Memorandum of Agreement with McDonald’s Austria that would allow the Golden Arches to assist Americans in need. McDonald’s staff will reportedly assist Americans in distress if they need consular assistance but have no way to contact the U.S. Embassy.

It looks like this FB post is actually their most popular one with over 200 comments though with varied reactions from the public.

“Come on! It sounds so ridiculous!”

“Great idea!”

“Happy meal for the distressed Americans in Austria 🍔

“One McPassport to go, please”

“Can I get uh….. a… diplomatic assistance meal please?”

“Would you like to supersize your passport? “

“I will have small coffee, egg mcmuffin and a passport, on the side please”

“The land of the fries and the home of Big Mac.”

“Can you help me find the McEmbassy?”

“As a U.S. citizen, I find it odd that this seems to be an endorsement for a specific corporation.”

One commenter asked if “this in lieu of a staffed embassy?” and US Embassy Vienna set that right with “Certainly not. Our Embassy is fully staffed and ready to assist American citizens in need. This partnership is only one extra way for Americans to connect to the Embassy when they are in an emergency situation.”

#

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman Touts His Host Country’s One Secret Weapon

May 15, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Quotes, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , ,

 

#

@StateDept Recalls Amb. Marie Yovanovitch From Ukraine After Persistent Campaign For Removal

May 8, 2019 By in Ambassadors, assistant secretaries, Controversies, EUR|Europe, Foreign Service, FSOs, Mike Pompeo, Politics, Pompeo, Public Service, Realities of the FS, Secretary of State, Staffing the FS, State Department, Trump Tags: , ,

 

The U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich has reportedly been recalled and now expected to depart post on or about May 20. This development followed a persistent campaign for her removal among conservative media outlets in the United States as well as allegations by Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Lutsenko concerning a do not prosecute list.

The State Department reportedly told RFE/RL  on May 6,  that Ambassador Yovanovitch “is concluding her 3-year diplomatic assignment in Kyiv in 2019 as planned.” And that “her confirmed departure date in May aligns with the presidential transition in Ukraine,” which elected a new president in April.

While that may well be true – she was confirmed in 2016, a 3-year tour is a typical assignment; the new Ukraine president takes office on June 3rd — it is hard to ignore the louder voices calling for the ambassador’s removal from post for political reasons. It doesn’t help that there is no Senate confirmed EUR Assistant Secretary or that the Secretary of State did not see it fit to come forward to defend his top representative in a priority country in Europe.

Ambassador Yovanovich is a career diplomat and a Senate-confirmed Ambassador representing the United States in Ukraine. She previously served as Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia (2008-2011) under President Obama and to the Kyrgyz Republic (2005-2008) under President George W. Bush. We’ve seen people calling career diplomats “holdovers”. If they were political appointees, they would be called “holdovers” or “burrowers,” but they are career public servants; that term does not apply to them. If some folks insists on calling them “holdovers,” then the least that these folks can do is to accurately enumerate all the public servants’ prior presidential appointments, some going back 30 years at the start of their careers in the diplomatic service.

Perhaps it is helpful to point out that as career appointees, ambassadors like Ambassador Yovanovich do not go freelancing nor do they go rogue; they do not make their own policy concerning their host country.  They typically get their marching orders from their home bureau, in this case, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) at the State Department, under the oversight of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, who report to the Secretary of State.  And they follow those orders.  Even if they disagree with those orders or the administration’s policies. Career diplomats who do not follow their instructions do not have lengthy careers in the diplomatic service.

After all that, if the United States is taking the word of a foreign official over our own ambassador, it’s open season for our career diplomats. Will the “you want a U.S. ambassador kicked out from a specific country go on teevee ” removal campaign going to become a thing now? Will the Secretary of Swagger steps up?

#

New U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid Arrives in Riyadh

May 6, 2019 By in Ambassadors, State Department, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , ,

Related posts:

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tweets Happy Passover Wishes, Angers Poles

April 22, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Holidays and Celebrations, Social Media, Technology and Work, U.S. Missions Tags: , , ,

 

Related posts:

 

North Korea Wants Pompeo in Out Group: No More Smiling Lunches

April 19, 2019 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State, State Department, Trends, Trump Tags: , , ,

 

KCNA on Pompeo via KCNAWatch: https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1555606947-602022423/u-s-secretary-of-state-slammed/

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea attend a working lunch in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on October 7, 2018. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Meanwhile in DC: