US Senate confirms Linda Thomas-Greenfield's nomination as US ambassador to UN

 Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a US diplomat with vast experience in Africa. She is a three-decade veteran of the US State Department. 

The US Senate on February 23, 2021 confirmed Linda Thomas-Greenfield as US ambassador to the United Nations. Greenfield's name was nominated for the post by US President Joe Biden.

The Senate voted 78-20 to confirm Thomas-Greenfield for the Cabinet-level position. Greenfield is the eighth confirmed member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a US diplomat with vast experience in Africa. She is a three-decade veteran of the US State Department. 

Key Highlights 

•  Linda Thomas-Greenfield is exceptionally qualified and in her new role, she will have to work to rebuild America's reputation and reasserting the first instrument of American power and diplomacy. 

•  Her appointment comes as the Biden administration is taking steps to reassert the US position within the United Nations by reversing policy decisions taken by former President Trump's administration, which left the US isolated globally. 

•  Her appointment also comes at a time when the US is rallying allies to push back against the military coup in Myanmar and amid the Biden administration's renewed push for diplomacy to resolve the Yemeni civil war. 

•  However, Greenfield's biggest task will be asserting US leadership and uniting allies to confront China's influence and ambitions at the global body.

About Linda Thomas-Greenfield

•  Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a retired foreign service veteran, who had resigned during the Trump administration.

•  She will be the third African-American and the second African American woman to hold the post of UN ambassador to the UN. 

•  Greenfield is expected to work with international partners to confront their collective challenges head-on and play an active role in ensuring that the United Nations evolves with the demands of the era. 

Following her confirmation to the post, Thomas-Greenfield made it clear that there would be a change under Biden to re-engage internationally and promote American values.

She stressed that US leadership must be rooted in the country’s core values — “support for democracy, respect for universal human rights and the promotion of peace and security.” 

She added saying that effective diplomacy means developing “robust relationships,” finding common ground and managing differences, and “doing genuine, old-fashioned, people-to-people diplomacy.”