Senate confirms Martina Strong as next US ambassador to UAE

Diplomatic post has been vacant since 2021

Congress has confirmed veteran diplomat Martina Strong as the next US ambassador to the UAE. Photo: US Department of State

The US Senate has confirmed the appointment of diplomat Martina Strong as Washington's next ambassador to the UAE.

The confirmation fills a vacancy that had been left open since John Rakolta Jr's departure in January 2021.

Ms Strong was nominated for the post in September last year. She was confirmed by a voice vote before a planned Senate recess late last week.

US President Joe Biden's ambassadorial nominations have largely been held up by some Republican senators due to political issues.

The President's picks for Kuwait and Egypt are still awaiting confirmation.

“With respect to the delays in Congress, obviously that was something we were very frustrated by. We were quite public with that,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

He added that the hold-up of ambassadorial nominations hurts US national security.

Ms Strong most recently served as the chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia. She has also held diplomatic posts in Iraq, Bulgaria and Poland.

She has won a number of State Department awards and speaks Arabic, Czech and Polish.