Biden to tap former ambassador to France as his ambassador to the UK after lengthy search
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(CNN) President Joe Biden will name Jane Hartley as his ambassador to the United Kingdom after a lengthy search, a person familiar with the decision told CNN.
Hartley, the former US ambassador to France, has not been officially named as Biden’s choice for ambassador to the Court of St. James, but the decision has been made internally, the source said. Biden has spent months searching for a candidate to fill the prestigious role, a process that has been the subject of considerable discussion on both sides of the Atlantic.
At least two candidates turned it down, including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for unstated reasons, according to a separate person.
Hartley was a major fundraiser for former President Barack Obama, and to a lesser extent for Biden. Her tenure in Paris coincided with a major terrorist attack in the French capital in 2015, during which she coordinated extensively with Washington to manage diplomatic assistance.
After the attack, Obama drew widespread criticism for not attending a peace march in Paris that drew other major world leaders, including of the United Kingdom and Germany. He sent Hartley instead, widely viewed as a poor substitute for himself or Biden. The White House later admitted it was a mistake.
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Biden selects Jane Hartley as ambassador to U.K.
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The ambassadorship to the Court of St. James’s, along with the one to Paris, is considered among the most prestigious postings for an American president to fill. Of the two plum spots — each with a lovely mansion in the heart of two of Europe’s great cities —, the London position is usually considered the more consequential job because of the close diplomatic, military and historical relationship between the United States and Britain.