The White House announced that President Joe Biden intends to nominate John Godfrey, a career diplomat, as the first US ambassador to Sudan in a quarter-century.
According to the White House, President Joe Biden has announced his intention to nominate John Godfrey for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Sudan.
The appointment of a new ambassador to Sudan comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee prepares to host a hearing on Tuesday, February 1, on US policy in the aftermath of the October 25 coup.
A nominated ambassador must be confirmed by Congress, according to the US constitution. In addition, the political or career nominees should be subjected to an investigation. As a result, Ambassador Godfery may have to wait months for a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as months for a vote in the Senate as a whole.
The US embassy in Khartoum has been open with a chargé d’affaires since May 2002.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had promised to nominate a new ambassador to Sudan in December 2021.
In the US Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau, John T. Godfrey is the Acting Counterterrorism Coordinator and Acting Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
He formerly worked as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and as the Deputy Secretary of State’s Chief of Staff. He also worked for international organizations in Baghdad, Iraq, Tripoli, Libya, and Damascus, Syria.
Sudan appointed Noureldin Sati as its first ambassador to the United States in May 2020.
However, last November, the coup leader in Sudan stripped him of his duties because he and other ambassadors criticized the military takeover and expressed support for the civilian-led government.
In the same release, the White House stated that Michael Adler has been appointed to Juba as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of South Sudan, succeeding David Renz.
