US President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Mark Gitenstein to become Washington’s European Union ambassador.
Gitenstein, 74, is a lawyer who served as the US ambassador to Romania from 2009 to 2012.
The White House said in a statement that “he has spent most of the last decade working on projects in Central and Eastern Europe.”
“As Ambassador, he focused on fighting corruption and preserving democratic institutions, issues he continued to focus on through his work as a lawyer and with NGOs,” it added.
The US mission to the EU is currently helmed by Chargé d’Affaires Kelly Adams-Smith, who replaced Mark Libby last week. The last US envoy to the EU was Trump appointee Gordon Sondland.
European Council President Charles Michel welcomed Gitenstein’s nomination on Twitter.
“We have a big transatlantic and global agenda to take forward. We need all hands on deck, and I look forward to working with him when confirmed,” he wrote.
Biden also nominated Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon for the position of US ambassador to Spain.
Reynoso is currently assistant to the President, Chief of Staff for First lady Dr. Jill Biden and co-chair of the White House’s gender policy council.
She previously served as ambassador to Uruguay.
Both need to be confirmed by the Senate.
