Tag Archives: Lisa A. Johnson

Confirmations: Goldstein, Lawler, Johnson, Gonzales, and Four New Career Ministers

November 17, 2017 By in Ambassadors, Appointments, Confirmations, Foreign Service, FSOs, State Department, Top Ranks, U.S. Missions, U.S. Senate Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted: 4:45 pm PT

 

On November 16, the U.S. Senate confirmed several nominations for the State Department, including the first under secretary confirmation under the Tillerson tenure, two ambassador nominees for Lesotho and Namibia, and two Foreign Service lists.

Mr. Irwin Steven Goldstein, of New York, to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy

Mr. Sean P. Lawler, of Maryland, to be Chief of Protocol, and to have the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service

Ms. Rebecca Eliza Gonzales, of Texas, 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 Kingdom of Lesotho

Ms. Lisa A. Johnson, of Washington, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Namibia

The U.S. Senate also confirmed the following Foreign Service lists:

2017-11-16 PN1199 Foreign Service Nominations beginning Lisa-Felicia Afi Akorli, and ending Stephanie P. Wilson, which 169 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on November 1, 2017.

2017-11-16 PN1200 Foreign Service Nominations beginning John R. Bass II, and ending Sung Y. Kim, which 4 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on November 1, 2017.

For those keeping tabs that means the population of the current Career Minister rank in the Foreign Service just increased from 22 to 26 with the confirmation of the following:

  • John R. Bass II, of VA
  • John D. Feeley, of DC
  • Judith G. Garber, of VA
  • Sung Y. Kim, of VA

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SFRC Hearings: Goldstein, Gonzales, Johnson, Evans, Lawler #OBE

November 6, 2017 By in FSOs, Hearings, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, SFRC Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted: 12:18 am ET
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We missed the Nov 1 confirmation hearings at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, so this is an OBE post. We are posting them below to easily retrieve the nominees’ prepared testimonies and provide a link to the video.  We have also added links to the Certificates of Competency for Chiefs of Mission. Per Section 304 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, Certificates of Competency must be presented to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for presidential nominees to be Chief of Mission that demonstrate the competence of [a] nominee to perform the duties of the position in which he or she is to serve. Unfortunately, there is no such requirements for top ranking nominees in the State Department.

Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: SD-419
Presiding: Senator Portman

Click here for the video of the confirmation hearing.

Mr. Irwin Steven Goldstein
Of New York, To Be Under Secretary Of State For Public Diplomacy
Download Testimony

Ms. Rebecca Eliza Gonzales
Gonzales, Rebecca Eliza – Kingdom of Lesotho – September 2017
Of Texas, 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 Kingdom Of Lesotho |
Download Testimony

Ms. Lisa A. Johnson
Johnson Lisa A. – Republic of Namibia – October 2017
Of Washington, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Republic Of Namibia
Download Testimony

Mr. James Randolph Evans
(certificate not available at state.gov as of 11/2/2017)
Of Georgia, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To Luxembourg
Download Testimony

Mr. Sean P. Lawler
of Maryland, To Be Chief Of Protocol, And To Have The Rank Of Ambassador During His Tenure Of Service
Download Testimony

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Trump Nominates Career Diplomat Lisa A. Johnson to be U.S. Ambassador to Namibia

October 16, 2017 By in Foreign Service, FSOs, Nominations, Officially In, Trump, U.S. Missions, WHA|Western Hemisphere Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted: 2:16 am ET
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On October 5, President Trump announced his intent to nominate career diplomat Lisa A. Johnson to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Namibia. The WH released the following brief bio:

Lisa A. Johnson of Washington to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Namibia.Ms. Johnson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor, has served as an American diplomat since 1992. She is currently Chargé d’ Affaires at U.S. Embassy Nassau. As a senior official at the State Department, National Security Council, and Vice President’s Office, Ms. Johnson demonstrated leadership of interagency teams, crisis management expertise, and a breadth of experience. She has served at six U.S. Missions overseas, including two in Africa. Ms. Johnson earned a M.S. from the National War College, a M.I.A. from Columbia University, and an A.B. from Stanford University. Her languages are French and Portuguese.

Career diplomat Lisa A. Johnson assumed office as Chargè d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Nassau  in July 2014 after the departure of career diplomat John W. Dinkelman who served as CDA from November 2011 until July 2014 following the departure of Ambassador Nicole Avant in 2011. In May this year, Trump nominated the first U.S. Ambassador for the Bahamas since 2011 (see Trump to Nominate San Diego Developer “Papa” Doug Manchester to be Ambassador to The Bahamas). The nomination has been cleared in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and currently pending in the Executive Calendar.

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Trump to Nominate San Diego Developer “Papa” Doug Manchester to be Ambassador to The Bahamas

May 16, 2017 By in Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, Trump Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted: 3:46 am ET
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On May 15, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Doug Manchester as the next Ambassador to the Bahamas. The WH released a very brief bio:

If confirmed, “Papa” Doug Manchester of California will serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.  Mr. Manchester is a leading industrialist with accomplishments on a national and international scale in telecommunications, radio broadcast, medical instrumentation, publishing, and real estate development.  Since 1970, he has been Chairman of Manchester Financial Group, which has multiple divisions including Manchester Grand Resorts and M Commercial Properties.  He leads the Manchester Charitable Foundation and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute.  Mr. Manchester earned a B.S. from San Diego State University.

The most recent Senate-confirmed Ambassador to the Bahamas was Nicole Avant who was appointed by President Obama on October 16, 2009 and served until November 21, 2011.  Career FSO John W. Dinkelman served as Chargè d’Affaires from November 2011 until July 2014. Career FSO Lisa A. Johnson assumed office as Chargè d’Affaires and has served in that capacity since July 9, 2014.

A note about this vacancy.  On February 10, 2014, President Obama nominated a law school classmate and his Deputy White House counsel, Cassandra Q. Butts, to be the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas. The Senate did not confirm her to the post. The Hill reported that her nomination was blocked by Republican senators, including Ted Cruz(Texas) and Tom Cotton (Ark.), over unrelated issues.  The Hill also noted that she died before the Senate held a vote on her confirmation, with a total of 835 days elapsing between the day she was nominated and the day she died.

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