U.S. President Barack Obama announced the nominations of the two new ambassadors to Egypt and Iraq on Thursday, filling a critical diplomatic gap for the U.S.
Robert Stephen Beecroft, the current ambassador to Iraq, will assume the top diplomatic post in Cairo while Stuart E. Jones, the U.S.’s current ambassador to Jordan, will take his spot in Iraq pending congressional approval.
The U.S. has been without an ambassador to Egypt since August 2013.
“I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this Administration and serve our country. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” said Obama in a statement released by the White House.
Prior to being Washington’s envoy Iraq, Beecroft was deputy chief of mission in Iraq from 2011 to 2012, and was U.S. ambassador to Jordan from 2008 to 2011.
Jones
previously served as deputy chief of mission in Iraq from 2010 to 2011
and was the Governorate Coordinator for al Anbar province in 2004. His
experience with the restive al Anbar region may prove invaluable as the
region continues to be the site of bloody clashes between Islamist
militants and the Iraqi government. He was also director for Iraq at the
National Security Council from 2004 to 2005.
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