Petschek Villa. The Residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Prague was built in the late 1920’s. Photo: US Embassy to CR
Prague, Nov 7 (CTK) – The next U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Stephen King, came to the Czech Republic on Friday, but he will only take up the post after he hands his credentials to President Milos Zeman.
Stephen B. King was confirmed by the Senate on October 5, 2017 as the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic. Photo: US Embassy to CRThe date of the ceremony has not yet been fixed.
Before King, the post was held by Andrew Schapiro, appointed by former president Barack Obama in September.
Since Schapiro was not a career diplomat and he was a political nominee, he had to leave the post this January, after Obama’s term of office expired.
After Donald Trump was elected the president last November, his first wife, Czech-born Ivana Trump, expressed interest in the post.
Supporting the idea, Zeman said he could not imagine a better candidate for the post than her.
President Trump offered the post to her after she said in public that she would be interested in it, but she later said the post would be “too demanding” for her, Zeman said in June.
The USA eventually decided to send King. Like Schapiro, he is not a career diplomat.
King, 75, is considered a supporter of traditional Republican values from the era of President Ronald Reagan.
pv/dr
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