Mark Green finally Tanzania-bound as ambassador



Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and John Kerry, D-Mass., both placed holds on Green's nomination in recent months. Dodd blocked it in June after the outgoing Tanzanian ambassador forced the top Peace Corps official there to leave. Green said Thursday he never had doubts he'd be confirmed. It had simply become a question of when. "In each case, when I had the chance to talk with the senator involved, things went along just fine," Green said, immediately after taking the oath. "In both cases, they made it clear their objections weren't about me. They were about other people, whether it would be the current ambassador or whether it would be their political differences with the Bush administration."

Mark Green finally Tanzania-bound as ambassador

Green finally Tanzania-bound as ambassador

By Kelly McBride
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

ROCKLAND — After months of political wrangling, Mark Green is ready to say "Jambo" — Swahili for hello — to his new post as U.S. ambassador to Tanzania.

Green, 47, was sworn into his new position during a brief ceremony Thursday at the Rockland farm of Harry Macco.

Green, his wife, Sue, and three children plan to be in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam shortly after Labor Day.

U.S. District Judge William Griesbach performed the ceremony. Green said having the ceremony take place in Wisconsin, rather than Washington, was important to him.

"Normally, I know, you get sworn in, in Washington, D.C., and there's a reason for that, and that's a good thing," Green said. "But I really do want to try to carry to Tanzania the value of the people of this great state. These are good people, and I think (they) represent the best America has to offer."

Thursday's swearing in came later than expected for some who predicted the Senate quickly would confirm Green's nomination.

Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and John Kerry, D-Mass., both placed holds on Green's nomination in recent months. Dodd blocked it in June after the outgoing Tanzanian ambassador forced the top Peace Corps official there to leave.

Kerry further delayed the process by placing another hold on Green's nomination. Kerry's public reasoning was that Green was a political appointee, rather than a career foreign service officer.

Several Wisconsin Democrats, including Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton and Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, urged Kerry to lift the hold. He eventually did, and the Senate confirmed Green's nomination early this month.

Still, Green said Thursday he never had doubts he'd be confirmed. It had simply become a question of when.

"In each case, when I had the chance to talk with the senator involved, things went along just fine," Green said, immediately after taking the oath. "In both cases, they made it clear their objections weren't about me. They were about other people, whether it would be the current ambassador or whether it would be their political differences with the Bush administration."

Those differences seemed temporarily put aside during Thursday's ceremony, which was attended by local, state and national public officials from both parties. Attendees included U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, and Wisconsin Atty. Gen. J.B. Van Hollen.

Green, the former U.S. representative who ran unsuccessfully for Wisconsin governor last year, is no stranger to the African continent.

He is the son of a South African physician, and he and his wife were volunteer teachers in Kenya in 1987 and 1988. While there, they visited Tanzania, Kenya's neighbor to the south.

Sue Green said she's looking forward to returning to Africa. The Greens' three children — Rachel, Anna and Alex — are excited for the move as well, she said.

"My suitcases are packed," Sue Green said after the ceremony. "School has already started there, so we're anxious to see the school and get the kids into class as soon as possible, get the routine going. They're going to a great international school and are looking forward to the experience."

Kelly McBride writes for the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: August, 2007; Peace Corps Tanzania; Directory of Tanzania RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Tanzania RPCVs; Diplomacy; Congress

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