Biden picks career diplomat as ambassador to Pakistan

Newswire

Washington: US President Joe Biden plans to nominate career diplomat Donald Armin Blome as his next ambassador to Pakistan, the White House announced this week.

Blome’s appointment comes three years after Ambassador David Hale completed his three-year term in Islamabad and left for Washington to take over as under-secretary of state for political affairs.

He will take up his post in Islamabad after confirmation by the Senate, as US-Pakistan relations are under a bit of strain. Blome, who is currently the US Ambassador to Tunisia, is stated to be fluent in Arabic.

A career Foreign Service officer, Blome has long experience in the region, and he once worked in the Kabul embassy, which was shut down earlier this year during the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Previously, he had been posted as Chargé d’Affaires at the Libya External Office in Tunis, Consul General at US Consulate in Jerusalem, and Director, Office of Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the US Department of State.

He has also served as Political Counsellor, Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan and Minister-Counsellor for Economic and Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

Earlier in his career, Blome served as the Civilian Co-Director, Multinational Force Strategic Engagement Cell, Baghdad, Political Counsellor, Embassy Kuwait, and as Israel Desk Officer, Deputy Director and Acting Director, Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs.