Biden plans to appoint George Tsunis as new US ambassador to Greece
US President Joe Biden is reportedly considering Greek-American lawyer and hotel mogul George Tsunis as the new US ambassador to Greece.
President Biden could offer Tsunis this prestigious post, leading him to become the next American, according to Associated Press report Ambassador to Greece.
“Biden is considering appointing Democratic fundraiser George Tsunis, founder and CEO of Chartwell Hotels, to serve as ambassador to Greece,” the PA report said.
“Tsunis was appointed by Obama in 2013 to serve as ambassador to Norway, but waived all consideration after a difficult confirmation hearing in the Senate. Tsunis admitted at the hearing that he had not visited Norway and wrongly referred to the country’s head of government as “president” rather than “prime minister,” the report continued.
Who is George Tsunis
George James Tsunis is a Greek-American lawyer and hotel mogul who has supported Joe Biden’s campaign for the Democratic nomination from the start.
In 2018, he said, according to Politico: “Don’t let anyone fool you: if he decides to run, you will see a national infrastructure set up.
“In the past, when he does run, there has been a formidable main opponent… If he chooses to run in 2020, he would be the Obama-Clinton candidate. I think people would feel his time has come, and I think a lot of the country would think we need a Joe Biden as president.
Tsunis, son of first generation Greek immigrants, James and Eleni Tsunis, is the Chairman and CEO of Chartwell Hotels / The company owns, develops and operates Hilton, Marriott and Intercontinental hotels in Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The Greek-American also manages his family’s real estate portfolio.
After registering as a Democrat in November 2009, Tsunis raised at least $ 500,000 for the Obama campaign in 2012, and donated $ 300,000 to the Democratic super PACs and $ 75,800 to the Obama Victory. Fund, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
According to state records, Tsunis and his wife, Olga, donated $ 115,000 to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s re-election campaign in 2014.
He was appointed US Ambassador to Norway by President Obama, but later indicated he was no longer seeking the appointment.
Tsunis was honored by the Cypriot Federation of America. In a previous statement, he stressed that Washington must do everything possible to help Cyprus by forcing the Turkish army to leave the occupied part of the island.
The current American ambassador to Greece
The current US Ambassador to Greece is Geoffrey Pyatt.
Pyatt was previously Ambassador to Ukraine. On May 19, 2016, he was appointed by US President Barack Obama as US Ambassador to Greece.
He was born in 1963 in La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego, California. He received his BA in Political Studies in 1985 from the University of California at Irvine and an MA in International Relations from Yale University in 1987.