United States diplomat
The United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is the ambassador-at-large who heads the Office of International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State .
The position was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 . The first ambassador at large was Bob Seiple [ 1] who served from 1999 to 2001. He was succeeded by John Hanford [ 2] who served from May 2002 until January 2009. Suzan Johnson Cook served in the role from May 2011 to October 2013.[ 3] On July 28, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Rabbi David Saperstein for the position. On December 15, 2014, the Senate confirmed him to the office, making him the first non-Christian to hold this post.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
On July 26, 2017, the White House announced the nomination of Sam Brownback , then-Governor of Kansas to fill the vacancy in the office.[ 7] Five months later, the Senate had yet to hold a confirmation vote, so per Senate rules, he was required to be nominated again in 2018 in order for a vote to be held.[ 8] He was confirmed to the position on January 24, 2018, on a 49–49 vote of the Senate, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie in favor of Brownback.[ 9]
Ambassadors-at-large
References
^ U.S. Department of State. "Biography Robert A Seiple." September 11, 2009.
^ U.S. Department of State. "Biography John V. Hanford III." September 11, 2009.
^ "Religious liberty ambassador's resignation raises concerns" . Archived from the original on April 2, 2014.
^ Dias, Elizabeth. "Obama Nominates Rabbi to Religious Freedom Post" , Time , July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
^ Campbell, Kay. "Rabbi David Saperstein confirmed as U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom" Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , AL.com, December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
^ "US Senate approves rabbi as freedom of faith envoy" Archived April 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , The Times of Israel , December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
^ @AP (July 26, 2017). "BREAKING: White House: Trump to nominate Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback as ambassador at large for international religious freedom" (Tweet ). Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Twitter .
^ Brownback’s nomination for ambassador post not carried over, will return to White House , Lawrence Journal World , December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress - 2nd Session" . www.senate.gov . Retrieved January 24, 2018 .
^ The White House (July 30, 2021). "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Leaders to Serve in Key Religious Affairs Roles" . The White House . Retrieved July 31, 2021 .
External links
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