The White House announced that President Joe Biden intends to nominate Jennifer Gavito as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Libya.
A senior State Department member, Gavito has held several leadership positions including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq, Iran, and Public Diplomacy.
The statement said that Gavito played a pivotal role in formulating U.S. foreign policy towards several Middle Eastern countries including Syria, Lebanon, and Libya. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from the American University in Washington.
The current U.S. envoy to Libya is Ambassador Richard Norland, who took over after former Ambassador Deborah Jones departed. Norland has faced widespread criticism in recent weeks over his pressure on Libyan parties to accept UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily’s initiative for a quintet dialogue to agree on holding elections.