Appointments and Resignations
Ambassador from the United Kingdom: Who Is Peter Westmacott?
President Barack Obama recently welcomed the new ambassador from the United Kingdom, a forty-year veteran of the British Diplomatic Service who served in Washington, DC, during most of the Clinton era.
Peter Westmacott has a personal connectio... read more
Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Who Is Richard Cordray
The new agency meant to protect consumers from the unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices of banks, credit unions, and other financial companies finally has a leader. Faced with a signed pledge by 44 Republican Senators to filibuster any nominee ... read more
Ambassador to India: Who Is Nancy Powell?
Nancy Jo Powell, President Obama’s choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to India, has been a career member of the Foreign Service for 34 years and holds its highest rank, Career Ambassador. She has already served as ambassador to two other South ... read more
Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget: Who Is Jeffrey Zients?
Just weeks before his administration was due to submit a federal budget for Fiscal Year 2013, President Barack Obama on January 17 named Jeffrey Zients Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is the primary budget offic... read more
Ambassador to Botswana: Who Is Michelle Gavin?
The U.S. Ambassador to Botswana, a lightly-populated nation in Southern Africa which is the world’s leading producer of diamonds and suffers the world’s second highest HIV/AIDS infection rate, is a relatively young foreign policy expert who has sp... read more
Special Advisor for the Great Lakes Region of Africa: Who Is R. Barrie Walkley?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on December 8, 2011, named veteran diplomat Reuben Barrie Walkley, who has served in seven African countries and been the principal U.S. representative to three of them, as Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region... read more
Acting Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service: Who Is Suzanne Heinen?
Appointed acting administrator on May 15, 2011, Suzanne Heinen has served more than 25 years with the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the lead agency in international activities to develop foreign markets for U.S. agriculture. FAS is primarily... read more
Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean: Who Is Larry Leon Palmer?
The United States will soon have a new ambassador to the Caribbean island nations of Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. President Barack Obama nominated Senior ... read more
Ambassador from Afghanistan: Who Is Eklil Ahmad Hakimi?
Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, a former citizen of the United States, has been Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S. since February 2011.
Born in 1968 in Kabul, Hakimi graduated from Kabul’s Istiqlal High School in 1985, and earned a Master’s degree in En... read more
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families: Who Is George Sheldon?
George H. Sheldon is the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ACF oversees and finances social and economic programs for vulnerable children and f... read more
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner: Who Is Carol Galante?
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides a variety of insurance options for qualified loans on existing homes, home construction and repair, and is also responsible for regulation ... read more
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration: Who Is Anne Richard?
The federal agency responsible for helping refugees around the world either through assistance to international and non-governmental organizations or by admitting them to the United States will soon have a new leader with years of experience at th... read more
Obama’s New Chief of Staff: Who is Jack Lew?
In selecting Jacob “Jack” Lew as his new chief of staff, President Barack Obama has turned again to a former member of the Clinton administration to improve his White House operation.
Lew replaces William Daley, who was brought in only a year ... read more
Ambassador from Côte d’Ivoire: Who is Daouda Diabaté?
Daouda Diabaté returned to the United States for a second tour as ambassador from Côte d’Ivoire in February 2011, part of a diplomatic offensive by the internationally-recognized President-elect Alassane Ouattara against incumbent President Lauren... read more
U.S. Ambassador Leaves El Salvador after Senate Republicans Refuse Confirmation
U.S. Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte is returning home from El Salvador after Senate Republicans refused to confirm her appointment.
President Barack Obama nominated Puerto Rican-born Aponte on December 9, 2009, and she was approved by the Senat... read more
Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Who Is David Aguilar?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is the largest uniformed, federal law enforcement agency in the country, has a new leader. David V. Aguilar, who has worked on border enforcement for more than thirty-three years, has been named CBP ... read more