Category Archives: UN

Nominee: Retired FSO Lisa Carty to be U.S. Representative to @UNECOSOC; Alt Rep to UNGA

July 19, 2021 By in FSOs, Nominations, Officially In, UN Tags: , , , ,
Thank you to over 500 readers and supporters who made our continued operation possible this year. Raising funds for a small outlet that is already open and free for all to read has often been the most challenging part of running  this blog. We are grateful for your continued support and well wishes. Gracias — DS
President Biden announced his intent to nominate Lisa Carty to be Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations with the rank of Ambassador and Alternate Representative to the United Nations General Assembly. The WH released the following brief bio:

Lisa Carty, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations with the rank of Ambassador and Alternate Representative to the United Nations General Assembly
Lisa A. Carty is Director for Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  She has worked for more than three decades in multilateral diplomacy, including on humanitarian, global health and development issues.  Carty has had leadership roles in both the public and non-profit sectors including twenty-five years as a diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service with overseas assignments in Asia, the Middle East and Russia.  Her United Nations career has included work with the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, as well as positions with the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Carty helped lead the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program and was a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.   She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.  She speaks French.

 

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Bathsheba Nell Crocker: Ex-IO Asst Secretary to be @USMissionGeneva Ambassador

July 12, 2021 By in Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, U.S. Missions, UN Tags: , , ,
Thank you to over 500 readers and supporters who made our continued operation possible this year. Raising funds for a small outlet that is already open and free for all to read has often been the most challenging part of running  this blog. We are grateful for your continued support and well wishes. Gracias — DS

 

 

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Bathsheba Nell Crocker for Representative of the United States of America to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador. The WH released the following brief bio:

Bathsheba Nell Crocker, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador

Bathsheba Nell Crocker is currently a Senior Advisor at the Department of State and served on the Biden-Harris Transition team.  From 2017-2020, she was a Vice President covering humanitarian issues at CARE USA.  Ms. Crocker was the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 2014-2017.  She previously served as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, as the Principal Deputy Director in the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning, and as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Crocker was an Attorney-Adviser in the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser; Deputy U.S. Special Representative for Southeast Europe Affairs; and Executive Assistant to the Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House.  She also held senior roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations, the UN Development Program, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.   Ms. Crocker served as a Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and the Brookings Institution; at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; and at the Council on Foreign Relations, as an International Affairs Fellow.  She taught at Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and American University.  A native of Washington, D.C., Ms. Crocker received a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

 

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Chris Lu to be Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform

May 10, 2021 By in Biden, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, State Department, U.S. Missions, UN, Uncategorized Tags: , , ,
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On April 27, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Chris Lu to be the Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, with the Rank of Ambassador. The WH released the following brief bio:

Chris Lu, Nominee for Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, with the Rank of Ambassador, Department of State

Chris Lu is currently a Senior Strategy Advisor at FiscalNote, a D.C.-based technology company, and the Teresa A. Sullivan Practitioner Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center.  Previously, in a career of public service that spanned two decades, he served in all three branches of the federal government.  From 2014 to 2017, Lu was the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, having been confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. In this role, he served as the chief operating officer of a department with 17,000 employees and a $12 billion budget.  The son of immigrants, Lu was only the second Asian American in history to become deputy secretary of a Cabinet department.

Earlier, from 2009 to 2013, he was the White House Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to the President.  During the first term of the Obama Administration, Lu co-chaired the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Prior to his service in the executive branch, Lu worked for then-Senator Obama, first as the Legislative Director, and then as the Acting Chief of Staff. He also served as the Executive Director of the Obama-Biden transition planning efforts in 2008-09. His government experience includes serving as the Deputy Chief Counsel of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and a law clerk to Judge Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Lu is a graduate of Princeton University and graduate of Harvard Law School.

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@StateDept Appoints Amb. Jeffrey Feltman as U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa

April 26, 2021 By in Ambassadors, Appointments, Blinken, Secretary of State, Special Envoys and Reps, State Department, Top Ranks, Trends, UN Tags: , ,
Once a year, we ask for your support to keep this blog and your dedicated blogger going. So here we are on Week #7 of our eight-week annual fundraising. Our previous funding ran out in August 2020. We recognize that blogging life has no certainty, and this year is no exception.  If you care what we do here, please see GFM: https://gofund.me/32671a27.  We could use your help. Grazie!  Merci! Gracias!

 

On April 23, 2021, Secretary Blinken announced the appointment of former U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa:

Today, I am announcing that Jeffrey Feltman will serve as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa.  This appointment underscores the Administration’s commitment to lead an international diplomatic effort to address the interlinked political, security, and humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa.  Having held senior positions in both the State Department and the United Nations, Special Envoy Feltman is uniquely suited to bring decades of experience in Africa and the Middle East, in multilateral diplomacy, and in negotiation and mediation to develop and execute an integrated U.S. strategy to address these complex regional issues.

Of particular concern are the volatile situation in Ethiopia, including the conflict in Tigray; escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan; and the dispute around the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.  At a moment of profound change for this strategic region, high-level U.S. engagement is vital to mitigate the risks posed by escalating conflict while providing support to once-in-a-generation opportunities for reform.

 

Related item:

Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the appointment of Ambassador Jeff Feltman as U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa

Related posts:

 

Snapshot: Cabinet Rank of @USUN Ambassadors (1946-2019)

March 15, 2021 By in Ambassadors, Diplomatic History, Foreign Service, Political Appointees, Snapshots, U.S. Missions, UN Tags: , , , ,
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Under the Biden Administration, the USUN Ambassador has cabinet-level status giving Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield a seat on the  National Security Council. This was not the case during her most immediate predecessor. President Biden stated  that he will accord Cabinet status to Greenfield “because I want to hear her voice on all the major foreign policy discussions we have.” (see more Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield Assumes Charge @USUN).
Via CRS (PDF)

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield Assumes Charge @USUN

March 3, 2021 By in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Foreign Service, FSOs, international organizations, Top Ranks, U.S. Missions, UN Tags: , ,

 

On February 23, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations (Record Vote Number: 61- Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 78 – 20. ) and  to be Representative of the U..S.A. to the Security Council of the United Nations (Record Vote Number: 64 –Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 78 – 21).
The Chief of Mission to USUN has the title of Representative of the U.S.A. to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Representative of the U.S.A. in the Security Council of the United Nations. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations was formally established with that title, by E.O. 9844 of April 28, 1947.
According to history.state.gov, the first Representative of the U.S.A. to the United Nations was Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. who also served as 48th Secretary of State from December 1, 1944, until June 27, 1945, under Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. He oversaw the end of the Second World War in Europe and the creation of the United Nations. Previous non-career appointees to this position include Madeleine Korbel Albright (1993–1997) who went on to become the 64th Secretary of State and George Herbert Walker Bush (1971–1973) who became 41st POTUS.
The CRS says that President Eisenhower appears to have been the first President to accord Cabinet rank to his Permanent Representative, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in 1953. Of the 30 individuals who have served since 1946, approximately two-thirds have been accorded Cabinet rank by Presidents.
Under the Biden Administration, the USUN Ambassador has cabinet-level status giving Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield a seat on the  National Security Council. This was not the case during her most immediate predecessor. President Biden stated  that he will accord Cabinet status to Greenfield “because I want to hear her voice on all the major foreign policy discussions we have.”
The last career diplomat appointed as Chief of Mission to USUN was John Dimitri Negroponte who served from 2001–2004. Other career diplomats appointed to this position include Edward Joseph Perkins (1992–1993), Thomas Reeve Pickering (1989–1992), and Charles Woodruff Yost (1969–1971).
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield is only the 5th career diplomat to be appointed to this position.  It looks like she is the first female Foreign Service Officer  to hold a cabinet-level position.

 

 

Reactions From President-Elect @JoeBiden’s Nominees

November 24, 2020 By in Biden, Federal Agencies, Nominations, State Department, Top Ranks, UN Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

 

President-Elect @JoeBiden to Name Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN Ambassador

November 23, 2020 By in Ambassadors, Biden, FSOs, State Department, UN Tags: , ,

 

DR News: Santo Domingo Gets Pompeo Visit, a UN Shout Out, a Newly Purchased US Embassy Housing Campus

August 21, 2020 By in Functional Bureaus, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Secretary of State, State Department, Trends, U.S. Missions, UN, WHA|Western Hemisphere Tags: , , , , ,

 

 

Pompeo’s ‘Diplomacy Weak’ Update: US Alone at the UNSC For All the World to See

August 21, 2020 By in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Hotspots, international organizations, Iran, Pompeo, Reputation, Spectacular, State Department, Trends, Trump, UN Tags: , , , , , ,