During his career, Michael Young was the president of three major American universities. From 2004 to 2011, he led the University of Utah. After that, he took over the head of the University of Washington, and then he was the president of Texas A&M University, one of the largest and most respected public universities in America, according to his biography.
He is a lawyer by education. He graduated from Brigham Young University - a university owned by the Mormon church - and received his doctorate in law from the famous Harvard Law School.
Young also has significant practical experience in foreign policy, it added. In the administration of President George W. Bush, he held several positions in the State Department. He was deputy legal adviser, deputy undersecretary for economic and agricultural affairs, as well as ambassador for trade and environmental affairs.
Among other things, he was part of the team that worked on the negotiations on the unification of Germany, participated in the creation of the NAFTA agreement, as well as in the negotiations that eventually led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He is also a long-time member of the Council for Foreign Affairs.
Who decides?
The procedure for appointing the US ambassador is based on the constitutional principle of the advice and consent of the Senate, Radio Free Europe (RSE) reported.
The president first nominates a candidate for ambassador, who can be a career diplomat or a political appointee. After that, the nomination goes to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, which considers the candidate.
The committee often holds a hearing where the candidate answers senators' questions about US policy, the country he is going to as ambassador, and other relevant topics. The committee votes on the nomination and sends a recommendation to the full Senate.
If the nomination is approved, it goes to the Senate for a vote. Only after the Senate confirms the candidate by majority vote, the president formally appoints the ambassador.
The new ambassador then goes to the host country and presents his credentials to the head of state, thus officially taking office.
Unlike many countries, US ambassadors do not take office immediately upon presidential nomination. Senate confirmation is an important mechanism for controlling the executive branch and can often take weeks or months, especially if there are political controversies surrounding the nominee, according to RSE.
Source: FoNet
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