Projo Politics Blog

By John E. Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Former Rhode Islander Christopher Hill, who toiled at one of the toughest diplomatic jobs during the Bush administration -- negotiations over North Korea's nuclear arms program -- has been tapped for one of the toughest jobs in the Obama State Department.

Hill is to be named President Obama's ambassador to Iraq, according to a number of wire service reports, at a crucial moment in that nation's struggle for stability after years of war. Mr. Obama campaigned on a pledge to remove U.S. troops from Iraq and end the war that began with the American invasion almost six years ago. At the same time, Iraq's fledgling government seeks to exploit the security gains secured since Bush changed strategies to add more troops about two years ago.

Yesterday, Iraqi voters participated in provincial elections viewed as crucial to bolstering the authority and stability of the government.

Hill is the son of a foreign service officer who settled his family in Little Compton during Hill's youth. He attended the Moses Brown School in Providence -- where he was a star lacrosse player -- and Bowdoin College in Maine.

Hill served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon and followed his father's footsteps into the State Department. He had extensive experience in Europe during his early career. He served on former President Bill Clinton's National Security Council.

He also served during the 1990s as ambassador to Macedonia and as a special envoy to war-wracked Kosovo.

Hill was part of the Clinton team that forged the Bosnia peace settlement -- a success possible because the Bosnians, Serbs and Croats "were all ready to settle," Hill recalled in an interview last year.

Hill served under Mr. Bush as ambassador to Poland and to South Korea before becoming the lead U.S. negotiator in the multi-nation talks with North Korea over its nuclear program.

 Tags  ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill Iraq North Korea Obama U.S. troops

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