President Biden Announces Key Nominees in Iraq, Kenya, and Malta

Shafaq News/ The U.S. President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate individuals to serve as ambassadors in Iraq, Kenya, and Malta.

In a statement, the White House said that Biden announced the nomination of former Hewlett Packard CEO Margaret Whitman as the ambassador of Kenya, a key partner for Washington on issues including counterterrorism.

Biden also nominated Alina Romanowski, currently ambassador to Kuwait, ambassador to Iraq, and put forward businesswoman Constance Milstein for ambassador to Malta.

Alina L. Romanowski, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Iraq, will replace the current ambassador Mathew Tueller.

According to the statement, Romanowski, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. Before this, she was the Department of State’s Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism. 

During almost 40 years of service across various U.S. government agencies, Romanowski has become an expert on Middle East affairs. Previously at the Department of State, she served as the Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. Earlier, at the U.S. Agency for International Development, she was Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East Bureau. 

Romanowski joined the Department of State in 2003 to establish the Middle East Partnership Initiative Office and served as its first Director. She also held Deputy Assistant Secretary positions in the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and served as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Romanowski also served in senior positions at the Department of Defense.

 She was the founding Director of the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Director of the NESA Office; and country director for Israel. She began her government career as an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. 

The recipient of numerous awards, including a Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, Romanowski received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. She speaks French and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.