The Diplomat
The new U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, was sworn in last Thursday before the U.S. Vice President, Kamala Harris, according to the Embassy yesterday.
The ceremony, which took place at the U.S. Secretary of State in Washington, was attended by the First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, whom the new Ambassador Reynoso previously served as Chief of Staff.
“We expect her to arrive in Spain this month to complete her process with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the presentation of credentials to His Majesty Philip VI,” the Embassy added via its Twitter account, referring to the presentation of the Style Copies of the Letters of Credentials to the Ministry and the delivery of the Letters of Credentials to the King.
Julissa Reynoso, nominated by President Joe Biden at the end of July, had to go through the process of appearing before the Senate in October, where some Republican senators showed their reservations towards her, considering her too benevolent with the Cuban regime, despite the fact that the ambassador herself had described Spain’s policy towards Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua as “mediocre” and had assured, during her first appearance before the Senate in October, that she would urge the Spanish authorities to “be much clearer and more transparent” with respect to “human rights violations and the lack of freedom and transparency in Cuba and Venezuela”.
Finally, her appointment was confirmed by the Senate on December 17, and she is expected to take up her post in mid-January. Since the beginning of January 2020, following the departure of the previous ambassador, Richard Duke Buchan, the Embassy has been headed by the Minister Counselor, Conrad Tribble, as Chargé d’Affaires.
As explained by the Embassy, once she arrives in Spain, Reynoso will have to present her Style Copies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with which she will be able to carry out activities in our country, while waiting to be summoned to present her Letters of Credence before the King to be fully accredited as Ambassador of the United States.
Julisa Reynoso, 46 years old, emigrated from the Dominican Republic to the United States at the age of seven, was educated at Harvard, Cambridge (UK) and Columbia and at the age of 37 became the youngest American ambassador in the history of that country. She is also the first woman to head the U.S. Embassy in Spain.
