US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to nominate Michael Gonzales as US Ambassador to Zambia.
According to a statement issued by the White House, Friday, Gonzales currently serves as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and had held various leadership positions.
“Michael C. Gonzales is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He currently serves as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. Prior to this assignment, Gonzales was the Director of Analysis of Africa in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Overseas, he held leadership positions as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal and of the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi; and as the Political and Economic Counselor of the U.S. Embassies in Harare, Zimbabwe and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Among other assignments, Gonzales served as Spokesperson and Information Officer at the U.S Embassy in Addis Ababa; Ethiopia Desk Officer in the State Department; and Deputy Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda,” read the statement.
The statement further read that Gonzales earned a B.A. Degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California and an M.A. Degree from American University’s School of International Service in Washington, D.C.
“Gonzales earned a B.A. Degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California and an M.A. Degree from American University’s School of International Service in Washington, D.C. He speaks Spanish and French. Michael Ratney. Michael Alan Ratney, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is the Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. He recently served as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Previously, Ratney was the Dean of the School of Language Studies at the Foreign Service Institute. Prior to that, he was on the faculty of the National Defense University,” read the statement.
“He served as the State Department’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and was the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria. Earlier, Ratney was the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Media in the State Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs. Prior to that, he served as Spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Other assignments include serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, as well as tours in Mexico City, Baghdad, Beirut, Casablanca, Bridgetown, and Washington, D.C. Ratney earned a B.S. from Boston University and an M.A. from the George Washington University. He is the recipient of multiple State Department performance awards, including a Presidential Meritorious Service award. He speaks Arabic and French.”
Zambia has not had a US Ambassador to Zambia since 2019 when that country recalled Daniel Foote after former president Edgar Lungu said that Zambia no longer wanted his presence in the country.
This was after the American Envoy condemned the sentencing of a Kapiri Mposhi based gay couple to 15 years imprisonment, as he said corrupt government officials were not getting such harsh sentences.
