US President Barack Obama has sent a list of nominations for special appointments, to the US Senate, among them his old college buddy and campaign fundraiser, Vinai Thummalapally, an Indian-American of Colorado State, who Obama wants to become the next Ambassador to Belize.
A White House statement issued Thursday, June 11, said Obama is asking the Senate to appoint Thummalapally to the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belize.
Thummalapally would replace Robert Johann Dieter, who took up the appointment in 2005. (The website of the US Embassy in Belize lists the ambassadorial post as vacant, with J.A. Diffily as Deputy Chief of Mission as Chargé d’Affaires.)
Thummalapally is one of 10 people Obama has nominated to key administrative posts. The others are Pamela J. H. Slutz for Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi; Gordon Gray for Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia; Richard J. Schmierer for Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman; Martha L. Campbell for Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands; Alfonso E. Lenhardt for Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania; Mark Gitenstein for Ambassador to Romania; Howard W. Gutman for Ambassador to Belgium; Don Beyer for Ambassador to Switzerland and the Principality of Lichtenstein; and John Nay for Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname.
“Americans will be fortunate to have these distinguished men and women as their representatives abroad,” said Obama, according to the White House statement.
He added that, “Their talent, experience, and dedication will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen America’s partnerships around the world and confront the challenges of the 21st century. I am grateful for their service and look forward to working with each of them.”
Obama’s office lists Thummalapally’s credentials as follows:
“He is the President of MAM-A Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of recordable optical discs. Prior to his role at MAM-A Inc., he served as the plant manager for Mitsui Advanced Media Inc., which also manufactures recordable optical discs.
He has served in several other similar roles in his 31-year career, including as General Manager for WEA Manufacturing, as a Managing Partner of Clines Office Products, and as Manufacturing Manager of Disc Manufacturing, Inc. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University and completed post graduate courses in Business Administration.”
As a side note, Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow had told Kremandala back in April at the 5th Summit of Americas in Port of Spain that if all goes as planned with Obama’s nominee for the ambassadorial post to Belize, that person would arrange Obama’s first visit to Belize.
According to the Prime Minister, when he and Obama spoke on the occasion of the recent Summit of the Americas, Obama had said that he would love to visit Belize.
“[Obama] is telling me that the person he proposes to nominate is a very, very good friend of his, and he thinks that will make it easier for him to work on the logistics of coming to Belize,” Prime Minister Barrow had told us.
The nomination would have to go through the Congressional processes for confirmation, he added.