OTTAWA — The U.S. State Department says Arnold Chacon has been named to serve as chargé d’affaires to Canada at the American embassy.
The announcement came Friday in a release issued by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The United States has yet to name a new ambassador to Canada, and until then Chacon will serve as the Biden administration's top diplomat in Ottawa.
He succeeds Katherine Brucker, the deputy chief of mission at the embassy who has been serving as Chargé d'Affaires since August 2020.
The release from Blinken says Chacon is a career diplomat who has previously served as the director general of the Foreign Service and U.S. ambassador to Guatemala.
It says he will work to advance "the roadmap for a renewed U.S.-Canada partnership, including trade, climate change, COVID-19 response and recovery, and global and regional security issues."
The release adds that Chacon's appointment "underscores the United States’ strong commitment to Canada and the Canadian people," and that he is dedicated to advancing the bilateral relationship.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2021.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Katherine Brucker was appointed to the roll of chargé d'affaires by former U.S. president Donald Trump's administration. She was, in fact, serving in the role since August 2020 but retained the title of deputy chief of mission
