November 23, 2020 at 1:36 PM EST
With nomination of Thomas-Greenfield, Biden seeks to restore U.N. ambassador role to Cabinet-level status
By Annie Linskey and John Wagner
With his nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Biden is giving a former career Foreign Service officer and an African American woman one of the most high-profile diplomatic posts in government.
Biden announced Monday that he would restore the post to Cabinet-level, a distinction that lapsed under Trump following the departure of Nikki Haley from the job halfway through his administration.
Thomas-Greenfield served as the top U.S. diplomat for Africa under President Barack Obama, an assistant secretary job that capped her 35-year career in the Foreign Service.
Known as “LTG” among State Department rank-and-file, Thomas-Greenfield retired in 2017 after Trump took power. She joined the Albright Stonebridge advisory firm as a senior counselor where she worked with her mentor, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
Thomas-Greenfield is also the leader of Biden’s agency review team for the State Department, a group of trusted advisers who are preparing to realign the department for a Biden administration. She has been leading efforts on promoting diversity at the department and other long-sought changes.
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