U.S. Senate Approves Appointment of New Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

The U.S. Senate has approved the appointment of Ambassador Michael Ratney as the accredited ambassador to Saudi Arabia. President Joe Biden announced Ratney's nomination for the position in late April 2022. The U.S. embassy in Riyadh expressed its eagerness to welcome the new ambassador. Michael Ratney is currently the dean of the Foreign Service Institute's language studies college and is considered one of the senior members of the diplomatic corps. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East and Israel and Palestinians, and from 2015 to 2017, he was a special envoy for the United States to Syria. Ratney held the position of U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem from 2012 to 2015, leading a mission that included hundreds of Americans, Palestinians, and Israelis responsible for American political, economic, and cultural relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.