President Biden To Nominate Ambassador To Sudan
Earlier today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate John Godfrey as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Sudan. The pending nomination could not come at a better time, with a recent coup in Sudan derailing the country’s fragile transition to democracy.
If nominated and confirmed, Mr. Godfrey will have a full plate at the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, which has not been led by an ambassador since 1997. Since the embassy reopened in 2002, a number of Chargé d'Affaires ad interim have overseen basic operations, with specially appointed presidential envoys shuttling around the region for higher-level engagement.
Here is a summary of Mr. Godfrey’s experience provided by the White House Press Office:
John T. Godfrey, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is currently the Acting Counterterrorism Coordinator and the Acting Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in the Counterterrorism Bureau at the U.S. Department of State. Previously, he was the Principal Deputy Coordinator in the Counterterrorism Bureau and before that, the Bureau’s Deputy Coordinator for Regional and Multilateral Affairs. Godfrey has served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State.
Godfrey’s other assignments include serving as Arms Control Counselor to the U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna, as Deputy Political Counselor (Northern Affairs) at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and as Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya. Earlier in his career, he served as Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and as a Political/Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria. Godfrey earned a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s Degree in Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan. He speaks Arabic.
Operation Broken Silence is the only nonprofit in the world funding community-led education in Yida Refugee Camp, right outside of Sudan. Without the Endure Primary and Renewal Secondary Schools, the entire education system would collapse.
When we all do our small part, teachers in Yida like Chana are able to create the conditions for future leaders to thrive. Here are a few ways to support them:
OTHER WAYS TO HELP
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