NEW YORK — President Bush yesterday named U.N. Ambassador John D. Negroponte to be the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, one of the first concrete steps Washington has taken to prepare for the June 30 turnover of sovereignty.
Mr. Negroponte, 64, is a seasoned diplomat who has presided over complex negotiations and large staffs as the ambassador to Mexico, the Philippines and Honduras. He also served twice on the National Security Council.
At the United Nations, the British-born ambassador was instrumental in building support to send weapons inspectors back to Iraq under the threat of force, but was ultimately unable to win a Security Council resolution to authorize the war.
“He has done a really good job of speaking for the United States to the world about our intentions to spread freedom and peace,” Mr. Bush said in making the announcement yesterday.
“John Negroponte is a man of enormous experience and skill. No doubt in my mind he can handle it.”
The widely anticipated appointment was seen as a victory for Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who has worked closely with Mr. Negroponte. Other leading candidates for the post came from the NSC or the Pentagon.
U.N. diplomats reacted with pleasure, praising their colleague for his professionalism, experience and ability to build consensus.
It was not clear when the Senate would vote to confirm Mr. Negroponte. But when the new ambassador takes up his post after the June 30 turnover of sovereignty, he will face one of the toughest jobs ever given to an American diplomat.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is slated to be the largest U.S. diplomatic presence outside Foggy Bottom. Officials anticipate it will employ as many as 3,000 civilians, including Iraqis, and work closely with the military commanders overseeing more than 100,000 coalition troops.
With an uncertain security situation, lack of modern infrastructure and brutally hot summers, Iraq will for some time be considered a hardship posting. That means Mr. Negroponte’s wife, Diana, and their five adopted Honduran children will not relocate easily.
The main U.S. Embassy building will be located inside the “Green Zone” behind a thick curtain of U.S. soldiers, with satellite offices in the southern city of Basra and in the Kurdish north.
The diplomatic outpost will absorb most of the American civilians now working for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which will go out of business on June 30.
“I am honored by this opportunity to further serve President Bush and our nation in what promises to be an extremely challenging assignment,” Mr. Negroponte said yesterday.
“If confirmed, I expect the focus of our efforts to be on supporting a free and stable Iraq, at peace with its neighbors,” he said.
The appointment was seen in New York as a signal that the Bush administration wants to mend ties with the United Nations after strains caused by the Security Council’s failure to endorse the war.
“He is an outstanding diplomat, very professional, and he likes to hear the opinions of others. I believe he will do a nice job as the U.S. ambassador there,” said Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali, the sole Arab representative on the Security Council.
“This is a kind of multilateral message that the U.N. is welcome back, and that’s good for the United Nations,” Mr. Baali said.
Mr. Negroponte said he expects to work closely with U.N. experts.
“Collaboration with the international community, especially the United Nations, will be a very important part of this endeavor,” he said.
“I believe my work with Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Ambassador Lakdhar Brahimi since 2001, as well as with other colleagues at the United Nations, has been very useful preparation in this regard.”
Mr. Brahimi is the secretary-general’s special envoy to Iraq.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.