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August 31, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The United States on Wednesday announced that it has appointed Mary C. Yates to be the interim Chargé d’Affaires at the embassy in Sudan.
- Mary C. Yates U.S. interim Chargé d’Affaires at the embassy in Sudan
Yates will replace Robert E. Whitehead whose assignment in Sudan expired. It is not clear why the U.S. decided to appoint an interim diplomat to this position instead of a permanent one.
The U.S. State department said that Yates most recently served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs on the White House National Security Staff.
She has served as Ambassador to Ghana and, prior to that, as Ambassador to Burundi, where she led U.S. involvement in the peace process and supporting Burundi’s transition from civil war to peace. She has served in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), both at the U.S. Embassy and in eastern Congo in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda.
Yates was also the former Deputy Commander for Civil Military Affairs at AFRICOM, she worked to establish key security relationships with numerous African countries, the African Union, and regional organizations.
“The United States is committed to the development of two viable states in Sudan and South Sudan. Ambassador Yates strengthens the team working with U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Princeton Lyman, and she will focus on the United States’ priority goals of ending the conflict in Darfur and Southern Kordofan and resolving outstanding issues between Sudan and South Sudan” the U.S. State department announcement said.
The US mission in Khartoum has been headed by a lower level official since 2002. The last time an ambassador was in Khartoum was in 1996 before the US closed the embassy.
US imposed comprehensive sanctions in Sudan since 1997 and stiffened them during Bush administration. It also designated Sudan as a state that sponsors terrorism.
However, the Obama administration has promised to proceed with normalizing ties following the secession of South Sudan last month. Sudan foreign minister said this month that his country is anticipating an imminent removal from list of states that sponsor terrorism.
(ST)
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