(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale to become the new envoy to Pakistan, according to the Associated Press.
Hale is a career diplomat and longtime Middle East expert who has been based in Lebanon since 2013. He previously served as the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2011 to 2013.
If confirmed by the Senate, Hale will replace outgoing ambassador Richard Olson, who represented U.S. interests and citizens in Islamabad since 2012.
Hale is a native of New Jersey and graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He speaks fluent Arabic.
Sources say Hale left Lebanon on Sunday to travel to Washington D.C. to meet with U.S. officials about the Islamabad position.
He has held posts in Jordan, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, where he received several department Superior and Meritorious Honor awards.
Hale became U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon on August 1, 2013, succeeding former ambassador Maura Connelly, who served in Beirut from 2010 to 2013.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut recently led a $25 million shipment of weapons from the United States to help Lebanon fight extremists along the border with Syria. Hale said the U.S. would continue to help Lebanon “until the job is done.”
It is unclear who would fill his position in Lebanon, if the senate confirms Obama’s nomination.