Tuesday night, President Donald Trump announced he had picked his choice to represent U.S. interests to the Russian Federation, and much like his pick for Chinese ambassador, he went with a popular, albeit former, Republican governor.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who has previously served as ambassador to Singapore and again to China under presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama, respectively, has served in every presidential administration since Ronald Reagan. He worked for the 40th president as deputy assistant secretary of commerce and continued serving in that role under his successor until he was appointed as ambassador to Singapore.
Huntsman continued to serve as ambassador to Singapore through the early days of President Bill Clinton’s first term in office. President George W. Bush nominated him to be one of two deputy U.S. trade representatives in his administration. He resigned in 2003 to run for governor, winning with nearly 60 percent of the vote in the 2004 election.
Huntsman was re-elected in 2008 with almost 80 percent of the vote. He resigned before his second term ended to accept Obama’s nomination as ambassador to China. He resigned in order to run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.
The White House released the following statement about the nomination:
Governor Jon Huntsman has had a distinguished career as a politician, diplomat and businessman. He currently serves as chairman of both the Atlantic Council, a premier foreign policy think tank, and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. His robust record of public service includes service as U.S. ambassador to China and to Singapore, deputy United States trade representative, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and deputy assistant secretary of commerce for trade development. He was also twice elected governor of Utah. In the private sector, he is a director on numerous corporate boards including Hilton, Chevron, Ford Motor Company and Caterpillar. He and his wife Mary Kaye are the parents of seven children.
Huntsman had been reportedly considered for Secretary of State prior to Rex Tillerson’s appointment. He is a Mormon and has defended his religious beliefs in interviews during his presidential campaign. [eoa}
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