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AUR 1920 x 116
AUR 1920 x 116
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Jack Markell, new US ambassador to Italy, arrives in Rome

Markell will be 39th US ambassador to Italy.

The new US ambassador to Italy and the Republic of San Marino, Jack Markell, arrived in Rome on Saturday accompanied by his wife Carla.

A former governor of Delaware, Markel was appointed to Italy by US president Joe Biden, filling a post left vacant for two and a half years.

News of Markell's imminent appointment in Rome was reported earlier this year by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Markell's predecessor in Rome, Lewis Eisenberg, nominated by former US president Donald Trump, completed his mandate in January 2021.

Since then, Washington has been represented in Italy by Chargé d'Affaires Shawn Crowley.

Ambassador-designate Markell, 62, comes to Rome after serving as US ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based role he has held since January 2022.

In 2021 Markell was the White House coordinator of Operation Allies Refuge which helped to evacuate Afghan civilians after the US military withdrew from Afghanistan.

An adviser and close friend of President Biden, Markell is a member of the Democratic Party and served two terms as governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017.

Born in Newark in 1960, Markell is married to Carla Smathers with whom he has two children in their twenties.

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Acorn P H3 - 1920 x 190
Acorn P H3 - 1920 x 190
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