U.S. Ambassador To Liberia McCarthy Presents Letter Of Credent to President Weah – See His Brief Profile U.S. Ambassador To Liberia McCarthy Presents Letter Of Credent to President Weah – See His Brief Profile
Ambassador McCarthy Presents Credentials to President Weah
Recently the newly accredited United States Ambassador to Liberia, Michael A. McCarthy on last Friday, January 22, 2021 presented his credentials to the Liberian leader, President George Manneh Weah, expressing his gratitude to the Liberian leader for his gracious letter to U.S. President Joseph R. Biden expressing congratulations on his inauguration, noting it was one of the first such messages from an African country. The Ambassador underscored the honor of serving as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, a country with which the United States shares a storied history and cherishes enduring bonds of friendship, partnership, and family.
William J. Burns
• Oxford University
William J. Burns is a former deputy secretary of state. President-elect Joe Biden announced Burns was his nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency on January 11, 2021.
[1] The Senate confirmed Burns by voice vote on March 18, 2021.
Biography
Burns received a B.A. in history from LaSalle University. He then studied at Oxford University as a Marshall scholar, earning an MPhil and DPhil in international relations.
Burns served in the United States Foreign Service for 33 years. He was the ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001 and the ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008. He also held the following positions during his tenure: assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, under secretary of state for political affairs, and deputy secretary of state. He retired in 2014.
In 2020, relations between the U.S. and China reached the lowest point in four decades, as the two global superpowers clashed over many issues: the coronavirus pandemic, trade and economic disputes, human rights, democracy, territorial claims, cybersecurity, and espionage. Correspondingly, public sentiment toward China has grown increasingly negative in the U.S., with nearly two-thirds of the Americans polled by Pew Research Center citing unfavorable views of China. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have adopted more confrontational rhetoric against China, framing the country as a threat and adversary to the U.S. rather than a friendly competitor and vital partner on some of the most pressing global issues.
Storella Publishes Op-Ed on Diplomats’ Role in Global Health Crises
The Hill on the role American diplomats play on the frontlines in heading off dangerous pandemics and how bolstering health diplomacy can help address the current and further outbreaks.
In the article, titled “Want to defeat COVID-19? Empower your diplomats,” Storella and co-author Jeff Hawkins – former United States diplomat and researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs – draw on experience fighting an Ebola outbreak to explain how health diplomacy can facilitate an effect response to health crises. In that instance, American diplomats had developed partnerships with local officials in West Africa meaning coordination of assistance and surveillance was all the easier.