President Barack Obama on Thursday named new U.S. ambassadors to 10 countries, mostly in Asia and Europe, the White House said. The nominations require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Obama named technology lawyer John Roos as U.S. ambassador to Japan, amid heightened tension in Asia over North Korea's nuclear tests. Roos was chief executive of a Silicon Valley law firm. Timothy Roemer was nominated to be ambassador to India amid unrest in Pakistan and ethnic tension in Sri Lanka. Roemer, a former Democratic congressman, served on the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States and on a key committee to prevent nuclear proliferation. The president named Patricia Butenis to be ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, as the Indian Ocean country just ended a three-decade civil war. Butinis is a career diplomat who has served in Baghdad, Pakistan, and New Delhi. Charles Rivkin, a major California fundraiser for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, was nominated to be ambassador to France. The chief executive of Wildbrain animation studios, Rivkin is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy. For the much sought appointment to Britain, Obama selected Louis Susman, a retired vice chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking. A former corporate lawyer, Susman raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the Democratic Party. Laurie Fulton, a Washington criminal-defense lawyer, was named for the top U.S. diplomatic position in Denmark. She served on the board of directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace from 2004 to 2008. Obama picked career diplomat Christopher William Dell—who has served as deputy chief of mission in Afghanistan since 2007—as ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo. Robert Connan, a top official at the U.S. mission to the European Union, was selected by Obama to represent the United States in Iceland. Thomas Shannon, a career diplomat and the top State Department official in charge of Western Hemisphere Affairs since 2005, was named ambassador to Brazil. He previously served as a top official on Latin American affairs at the National Security Council and the State Department. Finally, Obama nominated California lawyer Vilma Martinez as the U.S. ambassador to Argentina.
