President Barack Obama has announced he will nominate former Ambassador Ryan Crocker to join the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America and other government-supported international broadcast media.
Crocker is one of the most honored American diplomats in recent decades. He retired in 2012 after 37 years in the U.S. foreign service, including appointments as ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon and, most recently, Afghanistan.
After Crocker's service as ambassador to Iraq ended in 2009, former president George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor. Crocker then held an academic position, but President Obama asked him to return to the foreign service in 2011, and the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his appointment as ambassador to Afghanistan.
Crocker, who is 63, also has received distinguished service awards from the Department of State and the Defense Department.
Since leaving the Kabul embassy in 2012, he has been Yale University's Kissinger Senior Fellow.
A White House announcement did not indicate when the president's nomination of Crocker would go to the Senate.
The president appoints members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, or BBG. As an independent federal agency, the BBG supervises all U.S. government-supported civilian international media. In addition to VOA, the largest broadcaster, BBG units include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia and Radio and TV Marti, which broadcast to Cuba.
VOA broadcasts around the world in 45 languages, by radio, television, Internet and directly to mobile devices. Overall, VOA and its BBG partners deliver news and information to more than 100 countries..
For more information, see http://www.insidevoa.com/archive/from-the-director/latest/1502/1544.html and http://www.bbg.gov/broadcasters/voa/.
Crocker is one of the most honored American diplomats in recent decades. He retired in 2012 after 37 years in the U.S. foreign service, including appointments as ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon and, most recently, Afghanistan.
After Crocker's service as ambassador to Iraq ended in 2009, former president George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor. Crocker then held an academic position, but President Obama asked him to return to the foreign service in 2011, and the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his appointment as ambassador to Afghanistan.
Crocker, who is 63, also has received distinguished service awards from the Department of State and the Defense Department.
Since leaving the Kabul embassy in 2012, he has been Yale University's Kissinger Senior Fellow.
A White House announcement did not indicate when the president's nomination of Crocker would go to the Senate.
The president appoints members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, or BBG. As an independent federal agency, the BBG supervises all U.S. government-supported civilian international media. In addition to VOA, the largest broadcaster, BBG units include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia and Radio and TV Marti, which broadcast to Cuba.
VOA broadcasts around the world in 45 languages, by radio, television, Internet and directly to mobile devices. Overall, VOA and its BBG partners deliver news and information to more than 100 countries..
For more information, see http://www.insidevoa.com/archive/from-the-director/latest/1502/1544.html and http://www.bbg.gov/broadcasters/voa/.