-Amb. Linda Thomas Greenfield assures U.S. commitment to Boakai-Koung government
By Jerromie S. Walters
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield has assured the United States’ commitment to the Boakai-Koung’s administration, through the availability of apt opportunities that will improve the country and its people.
This assurance was made by Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield early Tuesday, January 23, 2024, during a radio appearance in Monrovia, prior to her departure. The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, along with other U.S. officials recently embarked on a diplomatic trip to Liberia to attend the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Nyuma Boakai, representing U.S. President Joe Biden, which was held on Monday, January 22, 2024, at the Capitol, the esteemed workplace of the National Legislature of Liberia.
As the United States has been a longstanding partner of Liberia,
Ambassador Thomas Greenfield says the U.S. is committed to making significant impacts in areas such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure development. providing support in various sectors to foster sustainable development and prosperityShe guaranteed, “We will support this administration.”
As she climaxed her trip with an engagement with the President, Amb. Greenfield noted, “The message I brought from the President, the people of the United States, was our continued support for Liberia. The reaffirmation of our partnership. We have been in partnership for many, many years. We are looking forward to working with the new administration to see that Liberia goes forward in a positive direction ” she stated.
According to her, the resources that are here in Liberia should support the people of Liberia in terms of education, health, as well as infrastructure development. “I’m traveling with the USAID director to address some of those issues with the President as well. We support Liberia. And we support the private sector. We want to encourage the private sector to invest in Liberia. Not only to invest in Liberia but for them to have confidence in the government. However, I’m very, very confident that President Boakai will provide that confidence to the private sector. They are willing to work and come back to Liberia ” she stated.
following the end of the closed-door meeting, President Boakai while briefing the press said that the closed-door diplomatic meeting was intended to recalibrate the partnership and corporation between the both countries.
According to Amb. Boakai, during the conversation, informed the United States Government through its representatives that they (Liberia) will respect the partnership and corporation that exist between both countries.
“I have just told her that Liberia has been partners with America for a very long time. We will ensure that we respect that partnership by making sure we put the country on the right path so that the people can benefit from it” she concluded.
Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield (born 1952) is an American diplomat who serves as the United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Joe Biden. She served as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2013 to 2017. Thomas-Greenfield then worked in the private sector as a senior vice president at business strategy firm Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, D.C.
President Biden nominated her to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and she was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 23, 2021. She took office after presenting her credentials on February 25, 2021.
Thomas-Greenfield taught political science at Bucknell University, before joining the Foreign Service in 1982.[8]
She served as deputy assistant secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (2004–2006), principal deputy assistant secretary for African affairs (2006–2008), ambassador to Liberia (2008–2012), and director general of the Foreign Service and concurrently as the director of human resources (2012–2013). In addition, Thomas-Greenfield held foreign postings in Switzerland (at the United States Mission to the United Nations), Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the United States Department of State‘s Bureau of African Affairs.
In 2017, she was terminated by the Trump administration as part of what was a “purge of senior State Department officials and career professionals over nearly four years,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Amb. Thomas-Greenfield is a non-resident fellow at Georgetown University, having been a distinguished resident fellow in African studies from the fall of 2017 to the spring of 2019.
In November 2020, Thomas-Greenfield was named a volunteer member of President-elect Joe Biden‘s agency review team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of State. As of November 2020, Thomas-Greenfield was on leave from a senior vice president position at Albright Stonebridge Group.
