Openly gay Rufus Gifford, the former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark during President Barack Obama’s second term was finally sworn in as the Chief of Protocol this week, along with 30 other ambassador appointees in the Biden administration.
He, and the other appointees, had been given their positions very soon after President Biden took office
BUT THE REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE REFUSED TO CONFIRM THEM FOR A WHOLE YEAR.The GOP
are not only the worst losers in the world, but take the word PETTY to a whole different level.
Gifford is returning to the State Department for the prestigious position after being appointed by President Joe Biden as the first out man to the position. He will act as a liaison between the foreign diplomatic corps in Washington and the administration, oversee State Department and Blair House functions, and travel with the president frequently. The Chief of Protocol, who has the title of Ambassador is expected to welcome foreign officials, manage the president’s official guesthouse at Blair House, and maintain the United States’ diplomatic protocol. Chiefs of Protocol also hold the titles of Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State.
Gifford was often referred to as Obama’s unofficial “ambassador to the gay community.” He was named ambassador in 2013 to Denmark and was incredibly popular with the Danish people and other European diplomats and his stay was covered in a very successful documentary series, “I am the Ambassador from America.” It even showed his marriage to his husband Stephen DeVincent in Copenhagen, shortly after marriage equality was legalized in the U.S.
In 2008, Gifford served as an adviser to the Obama campaign. During Obama’s first term, he was the Democratic National Committee’s finance director. In 2012, he was the finance director of Obama’s reelection campaign, before he was named ambassador.
