Washington – Linda Thomas Greenfield will be President-elect Joe Biden’s point person at the United Nations. In nominating the former Ambassador to Liberia Tuesday, Mr. Biden trumpeted her thirty-five years in the foreign service, particularly in Liberia where she was beloved as The People’s Ambassador”.
Said President-elect Biden: “As United States Ambassador to the United Nations, I nominate Linda Thomas Greenfield, a seasoned and distinguished diplomat with 35 years in the foreign service, who never forgot where she came from – growing up in segregated Louisiana. The eldest of eight, her dad couldn’t read or write but he was the smartest person he knew. The first in her family to graduate from high school, then college, the whole world virtually ahead of her as her mom and dad thought her to believe, posts in Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Jamaica, Liberia, where she was known as the People’s Ambassador by working people struggling to get by and always treated them with the same level of humility and respect. She was our top state department official in charge of Africa during the Ebola crisis, she received overwhelming support from her fellow career foreign service officers – and she will be a Cabinet status because I want to hear her voice on all the major foreign policy discussions.”
On her appointment, the former Ambassador to Liberia said: “My mother taught me to lead with the power of kindness and compassion to make the world a better place. I’ve carried that lesson with me throughout my career in foreign service and, if confirmed, will do the same as ambassador to the United Nations.”
Madam Greenfield would later Tweet: “In my thirty-five years in the Foreign Service across the world, I put a Cajun spin on it. I call it Gumbo diplomacy. Wherever I was posted, I’d invite people of all walks then make homemade gumbo. Thats how you break down barriers, connect, and see each-other as humans.”
“The first in her family to graduate from high school, then college, the whole world virtually ahead of her as her mom and dad thought her to believe, posts in Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Jamaica, Liberia, where she was known as the People’s Ambassador by working people struggling to get by and always treated them with the same level of humility and respect.”
– Joe Biden, President-Elect, United States of America
It is her connection to people that won her admiration by Liberians during her service.
Former President Sirleaf, during whose reign Madam Greenfield served, in a Twitter Post paid tribute to friend to Liberia. “Congratulations to my dear sister for your selection as the nominee for US Ambassador to the UN. You have long been a friend to Liberia and to Africa, and eminently qualified to represent the United States on the world stage.”
Madam Greenfield served in the administration of former President Barack Obama as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
Prior to that she served as US ambassador to Liberia under both George W Bush and Obama.
Years after her tenure as Ambassador to Liberia, Dr. Thomas-Greenfield, who played a pivotal role in Bidens’ transition team acknowledges that she is forever linked to Liberia.
In March this year, she herald3d the Johnson Sirleaf legacy as a legacy for all women.
Speaking during the launch of the former President’s Presidential Center for Women Empowerment flagship program Amujae, on March 8, Ambassador Greenfield noted that Mrs. Sirleaf has set a standard for all women. “I truly believe if your dream does not scare you it is not big enough. What we see here today is a big dream. President Sirleaf set standards during her 12 years as President of Liberia. She began and continues to set the standard as a role model for women empowerment,” Madame Greenfield, who doubles as the chair of the Amujae America’s chapter declared.