World News
US Appoints Zambia Ambassador Years After Gay Rights Row
Zambia is getting a new US ambassador Micheal Gonzalez, years after the previous one was forced out due to a diplomatic row over his comments on gay rights in the country.
Following his confirmation by the US Congress, the newly appointed ambassador, Michael Gonzalez, is expected to arrive in the country next month.
The United States recalled its then-ambassador Daniel Foote in 2019 after he said he was “horrified” that a judge had sentenced a gay couple to 15 years in prison.
Zambia accused Foote of attempting to dictate policy, and the country’s president, Edgar Lungu, declared him persona non grata at the time.
On Tuesday, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema bid farewell to outgoing US chargé d’affaires Martin Dale, pledging to strengthen the two countries’ long-standing ties.
Gonzales is an American diplomat serving as the deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs. He is the nominee to serve the United States ambassador to Zambia.
Gonzales is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He has held many positions throughout his career; he was the director of analysis of Africa in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Overseas, he held leadership positions as the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal and of the U.S. embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi; and as the political and economic counselor of the U.S. embassies in Harare, Zimbabwe and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition, Gonzales served as spokesperson and Information Officer at the U.S Embassy in Addis Ababa; Ethiopia desk officer in the State Department; and deputy public affairs officer of the U.S. embassy in Kampala, Uganda.
Since October 1, 2020, he has served as the deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs.
-
Business4 days agoAn Open Appeal To The Gov. Of Bayelsa State, Sen. Diri Douye Regarding The Removal Of My Prominent Billboard On Azikoro Road, Near Ekeki Park.
-
Politics2 days agoBREAKING: Wike Faces Another Setback as PDP Rejects Controversial Calabar Congress Report
-
News5 days agoPolice have arrested three suspects who offered a pregnant woman N30 million to terminate her six-month-old fetus for a ritual in Niger State
-
Niger Delta4 days agoProphetic Warning: Primate Ayodele Cautions NDDC DG Ogbuku on Imminent Betrayal
-
Gist4 days agoA housewife in Bauchi has stabbed her husband to death during a dispute over child custody
-
Politics4 days agoTension in Osun: LG Workers Stand Their Ground, Defy APC’s Resumption Order
-
Crime4 days agoClose Call: Baby Kidnapping Attempt Blocked by Vigilant Residents
-
Entertainment2 days ago‘I’ll Drop Your Son at Your Doorstep’ – Kenyan Woman Calls Out Cubana Chief Priest