Indian-American Richard Rahul Verma’s nomination as the next US Ambassador to India was confirmed by the US Senate on 9 December 2014. With this, he became the first Indian-American to be the US Ambassador to India.
Verma will replace Nancy Powell who resigned from the post in March 2014 after a damaging row over the treatment of a junior diplomat of India, Devyani Khobragade.
At present, the US Embassy in New Delhi is headed by a charge d’affaires, Kathleen Stephens.
Currently, he is a senior counsellor at Steptoe & Johnson law firm and the Albright Stonebridge Group, a business advisory company led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
About Richard Rahul Verma
• Rahul verma served as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs at the US State Department in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011.
• He was a member of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism, and co-authored World at Risk in 2008.
• He was a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007.
• He served as an Air Force judge advocate in the US Air Force.
• He played an important role in the Congressional passage of India-US Civilian Nuclear Deal and is a strong advocator of Indo-US ties. In this regard, he started an India 2020 project at a top American-think tank named Center for American Progress.
• Richard Rahul Verma was born in 1968 in the US after his parents migrated to the US in 1960s.
Comment
The very fact that Verma nomination was confirmed by voice vote in a bitterly divided Senate signifies the bi-partisan support to stronger India-US relationship.
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