The United States nominates Jean Elisabeth Mance as ambassador to Colombia – the United States of America – international

President Joe Biden nominated on Tuesday Jean Elizabeth Manes As the new ambassador of the United States to Colombia.

Mance, a career diplomat, will now have to go through the confirmation process before the Senate, a body which by law must give its approval to all ambassadors proposed by the administration.

(In the context of: What is known about who the new US ambassador to Colombia looks like)

His next move will be before the Foreign Relations Committee and then before the full session of the Senate.

The speed of the process will depend largely on the legislative agenda in Congress and the number of officials still on the “wait list” to receive confirmation from the Senate.

(See also: Why the United States still does not have an ambassador in Colombia?)

Analysts expect that, At least, it will take about three months before you receive the green light to travel to the country.

That is, as long as no hitches arise in your confirmation process. Given the system in which the Senate operates, a single legislator can block or freeze his appointment.

Born in Florida, Manis is currently the Deputy Civilian Foreign Policy Advisor to the Southern Command.. Prior to that, she was sent as an ambassador to El Salvador between 2016 and 2019.

In 2021, Biden again sent Manes to El Salvador as chargé d’affaires. But his performance during that last stint in San Salvador ended up causing quite a controversy. Since his arrival in that country, he has been embroiled in bitter public disputes with the government of Najib Bukil.

Although relations were already strained, and the United States openly questioned the anti-democratic decisions made by the Salvadoran president, The ambassador took it to a new level with permanent and very critical exchanges through social networks.

In November of that year, just six months after his arrival, he resigned after suggesting that the government of El Salvador was not interested in a relationship with the United States.

Mance’s name as a possible ambassador to Washington in Bogota has been emerging since the beginning of last year.

However, the process “froze” after i Senior officials and former State Department officials objected to his appointment because they deemed it unsuitable for Colombia.

Firstly, because of the fighting spirit he showed in El Salvador, and secondly, because of his affinity with the harder wing of the Republican Party.

Although Mance is a professional civil servant, her secondary and university studies took place in centers closely associated with this party and the evangelical movement in the country.

Liberty University, for example, where he studied international relations, is considered the cradle of this religious current. And a hotbed for figures of the Republican right

Profile that annoyed many. Especially when it became known that Gustavo Petro, the leftist leader, would be the new president of Colombia.

However, in its statement, the White House highlighted Mance’s virtues and foreign policy career.

“She has worked nationally for the U.S. Department of State as Senior Deputy Coordinator for the Office of International Information Programs and Director of Resources for the Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Her overseas assignments include Public Affairs Officer in Afghanistan; Director of Staff in the Azores, Portugal, and assignments in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Syria.”

He also asserts that Mance has received the “Distinguished Presidential Rank Award,” five honors for her work abroad, was named Diplomat of the Year on one occasion, and received the Roth Prize for excellence in cultural and educational diplomacy.

In addition, He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the American University and speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese.

“On behalf of the Government of Colombia, we welcome President Biden’s nomination of Jean Mance to become the next United States Ambassador to Colombia. Given the importance of our bilateral relationship, and while we await the process that will follow in the Senate, we welcome the nomination to fill this vital position and to strengthen relations between Colombia and the United States,” he said. Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo upon learning of his appointment.

Manes will replace Philip Goldberg in this positionwho was nominated in February last year as the new ambassador to South Korea.

Goldberg left the country on June 1 and since then the United States has not had an ambassador to Colombia, which is unprecedented in the relationship between the two countries.

Sergio Gomez Masire
Correspondent EL TIEMPO
Washington
On Twitter @sergom68