New Delhi: Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will be the new US ambassador to India, it has been confirmed. He will take over the vacant post in January 2021. The US Senate confirmed Garcetti’s appointment on Wednesday. His name was approved after voting in the Senate on Wednesday. Eric Garcetti’s nomination to the US Congress (Parliament) was pending since July 2021. At that time, he was nominated for this post by President Joe Biden.
52 votes were cast in favor of this leader close to US President Joe Biden, while 42 votes were cast against him. Eric Garcetti, 52, will replace Ken Juster in New Delhi, who was nominated by then President Donald Trump and sent as the US ambassador to India in May 2017. He resigned from his post as soon as Joe Biden became the President.
Expressed gratitude to President Joe Biden
Eric Garcetti expressed happiness after his nomination was approved. He said in a statement that he is very happy with today’s result. It was necessary to fill the important post lying vacant for a long time. He further said in his statement] ‘I am grateful to President Joe Biden and the White House. I am ready and eager to start my service representing our important interests in India.
Who is Eric Garcetti?
According to his website, he was raised in the San Fernando Valley. He did B.A. and M.A. Both studied at Columbia University. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and also studied at the London School of Economics (LSE). He has also taught at Occidental College and the University of South California (USC). Garcetti also served as an officer in the United States Navy Reserve for 12 years. He was the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles from July 2013 to December 2022. Along with this, he was the first Jewish mayor of the largest city in America. He was elected four times by his peers to serve as President of the City Council (2006–2012).
However, his mayoral tenure saw several controversies, including allegations of sexual harassment against his friend and advisor Rick Jacobs. Garcetti repeatedly insisted that he was unaware of Jacobs’ alleged behavior. His father, Gil, served two terms as Los Angeles County’s 40th District Attorney. His wife, Amy, was a fellow Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. The couple married in January 2009 and are parents to an adopted daughter.
