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Baker native to join Biden administration as UN ambassador

3 years 4 months 4 days ago Monday, November 23 2020 Nov 23, 2020 November 23, 2020 5:44 AM November 23, 2020 in News
Source: ABC News

WASHINGTON — A native of Baker, Louisiana has been chosen to fill a key role in the Biden White House.

The Biden-Harris transitional team announced Monday morning that Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a member of the Career Foreign Service, will be the administration's ambassador to the United Nations.

She has served as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs since 2013 and President-elect Joe Biden will soon announce her as the new US Ambassador to the United Nations.

During her long-time career as a diplomat, Thomas-Greenfield led the bureau in the Department of State focused on the development and management of U.S. policy toward sub-Saharan Africa.

Before this appointment, she served as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources (2012-2013), leading a team of approximately 400 employees who handled the full range of personnel functions for the State Department’s 70,000-strong workforce -- from recruitment and hiring, to evaluations, promotions and retirement.

Her 34-year Foreign Service career also includes an ambassadorship to Liberia as well as foreign postings in Switzerland (at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations), Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica.

In addition to the Bureau of Human Resources, her Washington postings include the Bureau of African Affairs (2006-2008) where she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (2004-2006) where she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield was the 2015 recipient of the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the 2000 recipient of the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs. She has received several Superior, Meritorious, and Performance awards, including the Presidential Meritorious Service Award. She was a 2010 inductee into the Louisiana State University Alumni Association Hall of Distinction.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield taught Political Science at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, where she also did work towards a doctorate.

In her new role with the Biden Administration, Thomas-Greenfield is expected to play a pivotal role in promoting diversity within the State Department.

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