Biden Expected to Name Linda Thomas-Greenfield UN Ambassador, Reports Say

Thomas-Greenfield served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa under Obama, from 2013 to 2017

Nov. 23, 2020

Then-Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 9, 2014.Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais,AP

Reuters

Nov. 23, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to name Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, media outets reported Sunday, citing Democratic sources close to Biden.

The appointment of Thomas-Greenfield, a Black woman who held a top diplomatic post in the administration of former President Barack Obama, was intended to restore morale and help fulfill Biden's pledge to choose a diverse Cabinet, Axios, which first broke the news, reported.

Thomas-Greenfield is the "leading contender" for the job, CNN reported.

Thomas-Greenfield served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa under Obama, from 2013 to 2017. She led U.S. policy toward sub-Saharan Africa during tumultuous events such as the massive Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

After leaving the State Department, Thomas-Greenfield took a senior leadership position at former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's global strategy company, Albright Stonebridge Group. She is currently on leave from the company, according to her page on its website.