The US Senate Approved John Huntsman as a New Ambassador to Russia

Source: Twitter

The US Senate voted in favor of the appointment of former Utah Governor John Huntsman as the country's ambassador to Moscow, Reuters reports.

The Senate approved Huntsman, who was the US ambassador to Beijing during former President Barack Obama. He was also an ambassador to Singapore during President George W. Bush.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week approved Huntsman unanimously, with Senators from both parties pointing to his experience.

57-year-old John Huntsman speaks Chinese, has seven children, and in 2016 Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at USD 1 billion. In 1992, 32 years old, Huntsman headed the US diplomatic mission in Singapore, becoming the youngest US Ambassador in the past 100 years. He was governor of the conservative state of Utah in the United States from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Huntsman as US Ambassador to China. This post he held until 2011.

The Senate has also approved other diplomatic positions. John Bass, a former ambassador to Turkey, will be sent to Afghanistan. Justin Siebrell was appointed Ambassador to Bahrain, and Wes Mitchell was appointed Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

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