WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has nominated new ambassadors to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, the White House announced today.
Michael Young has been nominated to serve as US Ambassador to Serbia, Ronald Johnson ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Peter McCoy as ambassador to Montenegro.
Michael Young, nominated as the next US Ambassador to Serbia, is a lawyer and an experienced expert in international law and diplomacy who has held senior positions at the State Department and led several major US universities, RTS reported.
He served as president of the University of Utah from 2004 to 2011, then as president of the University of Washington, and later as president of Texas A&M University. He graduated from Brigham Young University and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.
During the administration of President George Bush, Young worked at the State Department as Deputy Legal Adviser, Deputy Under Secretary for Economic and Agricultural Affairs, and Ambassador for Trade and Environmental Affairs.
He took part in negotiations on German reunification, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the talks that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization. He also chaired the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
According to the Sarajevo-based portal Klix.ba, Ronald Johnson, nominated as US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a retired brigadier general with decades of military and international experience.
Johnson began his career in the US Marine Corps in 1980 and held a number of command and international posts, including an assignment in Cuba. After retiring from the military in 2010, he founded Mares Associates LLC, a consulting company working with partner countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and South America.
Peter McCoy, nominated as US Ambassador to Montenegro, is a lawyer and former Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he served from 2011 to 2020.
During his time in state politics, McCoy chaired key judiciary and energy committees. He was later appointed by the Trump administration as U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, one of the most senior law enforcement positions in the state, RTCG reported.
The procedure for appointing US ambassadors is based on the constitutional principle of the Senate’s “advice and consent”, Radio Free Europe reports.
The president first nominates a candidate for ambassador, who may be either a career diplomat or a political appointee. The nomination is then sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which considers the candidate.
The committee often holds a hearing at which the nominee answers senators’ questions about US policy, the country to which they would be posted, and other relevant issues. The committee then votes on the nomination and sends its recommendation to the full Senate.
If the nomination is approved, it is referred to the Senate for a vote. Only after the Senate confirms the nominee by a majority vote does the president formally appoint the ambassador.
The new ambassador then travels to the host country and presents their credentials to the head of state, thereby officially assuming office.
Unlike in many countries, US ambassadors do not take office immediately after being nominated by the president. Senate confirmation is an important mechanism of oversight over the executive branch and can often take weeks or months, particularly if there is political controversy surrounding a nominee
