Betty King Nominated To Be Next US Ambassador In Geneva

Betty Eileen King of New York has been nominated next United States permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, an ambassador-level posting, the US Mission announced. The nomination has been sent to the US Senate for confirmation.

This would not be King’s first ambassador-level posting. She was nominated to represent the United States at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in November 1997, where she served until 2001, according to US Senate documents.

The announcement belies earlier rumours that Eileen Donohue – chair of the National Women for Obama Committee and wife of eBay’s CEO – was to be tapped (IPW, US Policy, 29 July 2009).

A recent Washington Post column claims Donahoe “may get a consolation prize in the form of a new ambassadorial post to the UN Human Rights Council,” though this information does not appear anywhere else.

According to biographies from past speaking engagements – at a conference on Caribbean Philanthropy and at the Global Women’s Action Network for Children (held by the Children’s Defense Fund) – she was the principal negotiator for the Millennium Development Goals and also has served in several philanthropic initiatives.