The AP and Reuters are reporting that President Obama has tapped retired Air Force General Scott Gration as the U.S. envoy to Sudan. According to reports, the president will likely make an official announcement tomorrow.
A Newsweek profile of Gen. Gration from earlier this year looks at his close ties to the president, forged during a 15-day tour of Africa last August. The son of missionary parents, Gen. Gration grew up in the Congo and speaks fluent Swahili.
The Enough Project has advocated for President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton to quickly finalize their pick. In partnership with the activist community, we’ve stepped up these efforts recently as the situation on the ground in Darfur has quickly unraveled. Following the issuance of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir by the ICC earlier this month and his retaliatory decision to expel more than a dozen humanitarian aid agencies, the need for a full-time, high-level envoy to Sudan became ever more urgent.
Gration spoke at the DNC Convention in Denver last summer. His official Air Force Bio is here.