Washington/26.05.22/Turan: The White House on Wednesday announced that President Joe Biden has chosen a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Mark W. Libby, to be nominated as the next U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, a move that, according to some observers, would ensure an experienced hand in a country that Washington is paying closer attention to, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.
"While I don't know him personally, he has broad experience that will serve him well in Baku", Richard Kauzlarich, who served as Bill Clinton's Ambassador to Azerbaijan (1994–1997), told TURAN's Washington correspondent when commenting on the nomination.
"Good that he is a career FSO (foreign service officer)," Kauzlarich added.
"My only advice is to enjoy representing the U.S. in Azerbaijan," the former Ambassador said.
If confirmed, Libby, who currently serves as a State Department Faculty Advisor at the National War College in Washington, D.C, would be arriving in Baku as the country is in the midst of diplomatic efforts to try to take small steps towards a peace deal with its next door neighbor Armenia. The move also came just a day after the U.S. offered help with Armenia-Azerbaijan border efforts, following their dialogue in Brussels over the weekend.
During his career in the Foreign Service, Libby served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels.
Other overseas assignments include tours in Warsaw, Nassau, Nicosia, and Baghdad, where he served as Political Counselor.
His Washington assignments include tours as a watch-stander and later Deputy Director for Crisis Management in the State Department Operations Center; Deputy Director in the Office of Central European Affairs; Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs; and Director of Orientation at the Foreign Service Institute. according to the White House announcement of the nomination.
Earlier, Libby worked on the State Department Secretariat Staff, returning later as Director. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Tufts University in Massachusetts and also studied at the Institut des Etudes Politiques (“Sciences-Po”) in Paris; he earned a Master’s Degree from the National War College, where he was a Distinguished Graduate. He is fluent in Polish and French.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
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