Linda Thomas-Greenfield
 Linda Thomas-Greenfield     (politician, diplomat) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Linda Thomas 1952 Louisiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University |
| Member of | Albright Stonebridge Group/Team, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, National Endowment for Democracy/Board |
| Interests | • Africa • China • Identity politics • Israel |
| Party | Democratic Party |
Linda Thomas-Greenfield was nominated by Joe Biden to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations in 2021.
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Career
Thomas-Greenfield taught political science at Bucknell University, before joining the Foreign Service in 1982.[1] She spent 35 years at the US State Department and on overseas postings to Switzerland (at the United States Mission to the United Nations), Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, Jamaica and Liberia.
In 2017, Thomas-Greenfield was terminated by the Trump administration as part of what was a "purge of senior State Department officials and career professionals over nearly four years," according to the Washington Post.[2]
In January 2021, she appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at a confirmation hearing on her nomination for UN Ambassador and said she regretted giving a speech to a Beijing-backed Confucius Institute in 2019 when she was working for a private consulting firm. She largely agreed with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on international policies, raising concerns about the People's Republic of China's "malign force" and "debt traps and tactics" in Africa and beyond.
In February 2021, it was reported that Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was delaying a committee vote on her nomination due to her 2019 comments on the People's Republic of China. Thomas-Greenfield's nomination was approved after she vowed to stand "against the unfair targeting of Israel" for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, saying that the BDS movement "verges on antisemitism."[3]
UN Rapporteur unfit for her role
On 29 October 2024, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield posted on X:
- As UN Special Rapporteur Albanese visits New York, I want to reiterate the US belief she is unfit for her role. The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights.[4]
UN Ambassador unfit for her role
On 29 October 2024, Scott Ritter responded on X:
- As an American citizen with seven years experience at the United Nations, I want to reiterate that you are completely unfit for your role as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Your tolerance for the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and Lebanon is automatically disqualifying.[5]
References
- ↑ "Career Foreign Service Officer Linda Thomas-Greenfield"
- ↑ "That drip-drip is the sound of two more senior diplomats leaving Foggy Bottom"
- ↑ "'BDS Verges on Antisemitism,' Biden's Pick for UN Envoy Says"
- ↑ "As UN Special Rapporteur Albanese visits New York, I want to reiterate the U.S. belief she is unfit for her role"
- ↑ "I want to reiterate that you are completely unfit for your role as US Ambassador to the United Nations"
