Christopher John Lamora[1] is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Cameroon since 2022.
Christopher Lamora | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to Cameroon | |
| Assumed office March 21, 2022 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Peter Barlerin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Christopher John Lamora |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Georgetown University (BS) |
Early life and education
editLamora earned a Bachelor of Science from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.[2]
Career
editLamora is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana prior to his current appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon. [citation needed]
His previous work has included being the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Africa and African Security Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department and he also served as Director of the Office of Central African Affairs, Deputy Director of the Bureau’s Office of Economic and Regional Affairs, and desk officer for the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, he had overseas assignments at the U.S. embassies in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Greece and the Central African Republic, and the U.S. Consulate General in Douala, Cameroon. He speaks French, Spanish, and Modern Greek.[3]
U.S. ambassador to Cameroon
editOn April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lamora to be the next United States Ambassador to Cameroon. On April 19, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[4] Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 9, 2021. The committee reported him favorably on June 24, 2021. On December 18, 2021, he was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote.[5] He was sworn into office on February 11, 2022.[6] He arrived in Cameroon on March 5, 2022.[7] He presented his credentials to foreign minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella on March 21, 2022.[8] Lamora is the first out gay man appointed to be ambassador for Cameroon.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "PN1085 — 114th Congress (2015-2016) — Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. February 11, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ "Deputy Chief of Mission – Christopher J. Lamora". U.S. Embassy in Ghana. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Nine Career Members of the Senior Foreign Service as Ambassadors" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. April 15, 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. April 19, 2021.
- ^ "PN381 - Nomination of Christopher John Lamora for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Biography of Christopher J. Lamora, U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon". U.S. Embassy in Cameroon. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ U.S. Embassy in Yaounde [@USEmbYaounde] (March 7, 2022). "Ambassador Christopher J. Lamora arrived in Cameroon on March 5, 2022. He looks forward to serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon. Learn more about the new U.S. Ambassador: https://cm.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/our-ambassador/" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "New U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon- Christopher J. Lamora" (Press release). Yaoundé, Cameroon: U.S. Embassy in Cameroon. March 21, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ Riley, John (December 20, 2021). "U.S. Senate approves gay man as ambassador to Cameroon, where homosexuality is criminalized". Metro Weekly. Retrieved April 5, 2022.