irishspirit
27th December 2010, 18:22
Numerous sources are pointing toward New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as possibly replacing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in 2011. Governor Richardson will be ending his term as Governor on December 31st after eight years in office and has just returned from North Korea after working in an “unofficial” capacity to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Richardson recently stated that he would like a position in the Obama administration after he leaves office. This is not an unreasonable request in that he had been previously nominated by President Obama to be commerce secretary in 2009. However, Richardson had to withdraw his nomination because he was under investigation for alleged “pay to play” activities as Governor. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in August of 2009.
Richardson also traveled to Cuba in August of this year under the guise of arranging trade for products from New Mexico. However, he admitted that the U.S. State Department asked him to press Cuban officials for the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross who has been held in a Cuban jail since last December on suspicion of spying. Richardson met with Cuba’s Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez about the case.
This was not Richardson’s first exposure to diplomatic relations. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary under President Clinton. In 1996, he met with former Cuban President Fidel Castro to secure the release of three political prisoners. In addition, he traveled to war torn Sudan that same year to successfully negotiate the release of an American pilot and two other Red Cross workers who were taken hostage in the Central African nation.
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/nm-gov-bill-richardson-to-replace-hillary-clinton-at-state-dept
Richardson recently stated that he would like a position in the Obama administration after he leaves office. This is not an unreasonable request in that he had been previously nominated by President Obama to be commerce secretary in 2009. However, Richardson had to withdraw his nomination because he was under investigation for alleged “pay to play” activities as Governor. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in August of 2009.
Richardson also traveled to Cuba in August of this year under the guise of arranging trade for products from New Mexico. However, he admitted that the U.S. State Department asked him to press Cuban officials for the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross who has been held in a Cuban jail since last December on suspicion of spying. Richardson met with Cuba’s Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez about the case.
This was not Richardson’s first exposure to diplomatic relations. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary under President Clinton. In 1996, he met with former Cuban President Fidel Castro to secure the release of three political prisoners. In addition, he traveled to war torn Sudan that same year to successfully negotiate the release of an American pilot and two other Red Cross workers who were taken hostage in the Central African nation.
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/nm-gov-bill-richardson-to-replace-hillary-clinton-at-state-dept