Posted: 2:19 am ET
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On March 23, President Trump announced his intent to nominate William Francis Hagerty IV of Tennessee to be his ambassador to Japan. The WH released the following brief bio:

William Francis Hagerty IV of Tennessee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Japan. Bill Hagerty began his career with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1984 as an International Management Consultant and spent three years in Japan managing BCG’s business with western clients throughout Japan and Asia. In 1991, Mr. Hagerty moved to Washington, D.C. to work as a White House Fellow reporting to the Vice President and focusing on international trade, commerce, treasury, defense, and telecom. Mr. Hagerty returned to the private sector in 1993 and served as CEO and board member of companies with extensive operations in Asia and Europe. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Hagerty served in the Tennessee Governor’s Cabinet as Secretary for Trade and Commerce. During his tenure, Tennessee was the top state for jobs and economic growth from 2013 to 2015 and led the nation in foreign direct investment, 60% of which came from Japan.  Mr. Hagerty has BS and JD degrees from Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Chrissy, live in Nashville with their four children.

US Ambassador’s House, Tokyo, Japan (Photo via State/OBO)

Additional details from his online bio:

In July of 2016, Bill Hagerty took a leave of absence from Hagerty Peterson to serve as Director of Presidential Appointments for the 2016 Trump Presidential Transition Team, where he is responsible for the planning and execution of the process to effect the largest leadership transition in the world – one that ultimately encompasses over 4,000 Presidential Appointments.

A native of Tennessee, Mr. Hagerty attended Vanderbilt University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Economics. He then attended Vanderbilt Law School as a Wilson Scholar and was elected to the Law Review where he served as Associate Editor.

Hagerty Peterson & Company, LLC where Mr. Hagerty is founder and Managing Director has an extensive biography here.

If confirmed, Mr. Hagerty would succeed Caroline Kennedy who was appointed as President Obama’s Ambassador to Japan from November 12, 2013 until January 18, 2017. Other predecessors to this position at US Embassy Tokyo include Douglas MacArthur II, U. Alexis Johnson, Mike Mansfield, and Walter Mondale.

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