Louis Susman has taken up his position as the US ambassador to the UK.
But President Obama's choice is not a well-known figure to most Britons. And he is not even a diplomat.
He is, though, the latest incumbent of one of the most prestigious of diplomatic postings.
Initially, the position was the Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St James's. For a while it was Envoy Extraordinary. In more recent years, he has been the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of St James's.
Mr Susman follows a long line of America's top representatives in Britain. No fewer than five have gone on to become president of the United States.
For several months after President Obama took office, Britain had to make do with an American chargé d'affaires in London before the 71-year old former banker was confirmed by Senate hearings in July.
'Repay my debt'
During those hearings, Ambassador Susman spoke of his pride in being chosen for the role.
He told the Senate: "For me, this opportunity to represent the United States, the culmination of a rewarding 45-year career as a lawyer, banker, leader and philanthropist, is a chance to repay my debt to the country which made living the dream possible."
One thing to notice is that he did not talk about a long career as a diplomat. This post tends not to be filled by those who have served for years, climbing up the diplomatic ladder.
In fact, one veteran watcher of the ambassadorial circuit claims it is "remarkably common" to find important US appointments around the world going to those who have donated to, or raised money for, the party in power.
During his career, Thomas Pickering was ambassador to Russia, Israel and the United Nations, among other countries.
He is now chairman of the American Academy of Diplomacy.
He said: "If one looks at the appointees, not just of the Obama administration but the Bush administration and the Clinton one before that, the notable feature of many of these appointments is that Mr or Mrs X contributed X hundred thousand dollars to the campaign."
The linkage, he claims, smacks of "simony" - the ecclesiastical crime of paying for holy offices or positions in the hierarchy.
There is no suggestion of course in this case that the office has been bought, but Mr Susman is a well-known and prominent Democrat fundraiser.
He was National Finance Chairman of Senator John Kerry's failed campaign to become president in 2004. That campaign raised some $250m, then a record.
Not for nothing has Mr Susman been described as "the vacuum cleaner" for his ability to suck up donations.
He also helped the Obama campaign. But his defenders deny his appointment is simply a case of cronyism.
Melody Miller is a friend and a former special adviser to the senior Democrat, Senator Edward Kennedy.
"He is not somebody who is a lightweight," she says. "This man is a heavyweight in all the areas.
"He did not get to the top of the legal profession in St Louis, he did not get to the top of the banking profession in Chicago and New York without a great deal of intelligence, wisdom, know-how and ability."
Mr Susman has also worked for Republicans - he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the United States Commission on Public Diplomacy.
Another friend and colleague is the senior banker Sir Win Bischoff, soon to be the new chairman of the Lloyds Banking Group. They know each other from their time at Citigroup.
"What distinguishes Louis Susman is his internationalism," he says. "He also has an ability to get on with people, he listens very well."
And for an ambassador with little diplomatic background, Sir Win believes Mr Susman is an astute choice.
He said: "He's actually a natural diplomat, extraordinarily enough. I think the president will have chosen him for this job because of the qualities that he has, rather than because of his vacuum-cleaning!"
No comments :
Post a Comment