New US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson swears oath of office
The newly appointed US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Porter Jackson today swore the oath of office in Washington DC. He will be replacing the immediate past Ambassador Gene Cretz.
A former US Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum was present during the ceremony administered by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a press statement from the US Embassy in Accra copied to ghanabusinessnews.com says.
According to the statement, Jackson, whose nomination was confirmed by the US Senate October 22, 2015 is expected to arrive in Ghana and take up his duties in Accra in early January 2016.
“My priorities will be to promote strong institutions, good governance, peace, trade, education, and health, unlocking Ghana’s potential for sustained, inclusive, broad-based economic growth and helping it graduate from traditional development assistance,” Jackson said at the ceremony.
Ambassador Jackson has served as the US Department of State’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs since October 2013. From 2010 to 2013 he was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon.
He has served in the following countries in various capacities:
- Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Rabat, Morocco
- Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Dakar, Senegal
- Political/Economic Counselor, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
- Political-Military Officer, Lisbon, Portugal
- Chief of the Political Section, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Political/Economic Officer in Bujumbura, Burundi
- Consular/Economic Officer in Montreal, Canada
The statement notes that he has also served in Washington, D.C., as the Director of the Office for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy; as the Country Officer for Zimbabwe, Botswana and Nigeria; and as the Coordinator of the Entry-Level Officer Training Program and Deputy Director of the Orientation Division at the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute.
Prior to joining the US Foreign Service in 1982, Ambassador Jackson taught French and English as a foreign language at the Institute Montana in Zugerberg, Switzerland.
He had previously taught English and American Civilization at the University of Clermont in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
He earned his M.S. in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University, his M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and his B.A. in Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
He speaks French and Portuguese, the statement adds.
Present at the ceremony were Lieutenant General Joseph Henry Smith, Ambassador of Ghana to the United States, Under Secretary of State for Management, Patrick Kennedy and former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi