Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Officially In: Scott H. DeLisi to Kathmandu

Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, NepalImage via Wikipedia

On November 16, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Scott H. DeLisi to be US Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The WH released the following official bio below:

As a 28 year career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Scott H. DeLisi has served as Ambassador to the State of Eritrea and as Deputy Chief of Mission of the American Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana. Currently Mr. DeLisi is the Director of Career Development and Assignments in the State Department's Bureau of Human Resources where he has played a key role in the staffing of embassies. This has included missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.Previously, as the Director for Entry Level Programs, Mr. DeLisi was responsible for the training, placement and career development of 600 new entrants and over 2500 existing Foreign Service Officers. Mr. DeLisi has also served as Director for Southern African Affairs, Vice Counsel for the Embassy in India, the Chief of Political Section in Sri Lanka, in addition to other postings in Madagascar and Pakistan. A native of Minnesota, Mr. DeLisi holds both a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

* * *

That would be Vice Consul not Counsel for the US Embassy in India. If confirmed, Mr. DeLisi would succeed career diplomat, Nancy Powell (currently the Director General of the Foreign Service) as top US representative in Kathmandu. Our last six US Ambassadors to Nepal were all career diplomats.