Former New Mexico Senator, Tom Udall (pictured) has been nominated as the next United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
Mr Udall, a Democrat, retired this year after two terms in the Senate representing New Mexico.
He comes from a family well known for public service, his father, Stewart Udall served as Secretary of the Interior; his uncle, Mo Udall was a Congressman from Colorado; and his cousin, Mark Udall was a Senator from Colorado.
“Having dedicated my life to public service and having served as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee focusing on policies that promote democracy, international development and conservation, I am honoured to be nominated to this next role,” Mr Udall said.
President Joe Biden has also nominated Ken Salazar, a Democrat who represented Colorado and a former Secretary of the Interior, as ambassador to Mexico, and Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who endorsed Mr Biden’s 2020 run, to serve as Ambassador to Turkey.
Mr Biden is also expected to nominate Democratic fundraiser, Jane Hartley to serve as his Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
The UK Ambassadorship is one of the highest-profile diplomatic postings and often comes with an expectation that the nominee can foot the bill for entertaining on behalf of the United States.
Mr Biden is apparently also considering nominating Democratic fundraiser, George Tsunis to serve as ambassador to Greece, while three career Foreign Service officers have been nominated to ambassadorships: Caryn McClelland (Brunei Darussalam); Michael Murphy (Bosnia and Herzegovina); and Howard Van Vranken (Botswana).
Washington, 19 July 2021
