New U.S. Ambassador David Hale presented his credentials Friday to Lebanese president Michel Suleiman in the presence of caretaker Foreign minister Adnan Mansour, , the National News Agency reported .
In addition to Hale new envoys from Poland, Wojciech Bozek, and the Netherlands , Hester Somsen submitted their credentials on Friday.
Hale who until recently was the United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace replaces Ambassador Maura Connelly whose three year term ended last month.
Hale who replaced George J. Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in 2011 , served as the United States Ambassador to Jordan since 2005, Deputy Chief of Mission in Amman since July 2003 and as Chargé d’affaires since July 2004. Previously he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, and Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State.
Hale served in Lebanon when David Michael Satterfield was the US ambassador (1998 – 2001) . He is considered one of the most prominent backers of the Lebanese constitutional institutions, according to Al Hayat newspaper
Hale joined the Foreign Service in 1984 and studied Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute’s Field School in Tunisia. He is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a permanent resident of Princeton, New Jersey.
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