A duo of experienced American diplomats flanks Kimberly Guilfoyle at the US Embassy in Athens, as she officially assumes her duties today. Shortly after 12:00 PM, she will present her credentials to the President of the Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas, followed by a 1:30 PM meeting with Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis. Tomorrow at 10:00 AM, Kimberly Guilfoyle is scheduled to meet with Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion, while Wednesday evening she will host a reception in the ambassadorial residence garden honoring US Interior Secretary and head of the National Council for Energy Sovereignty Doug Bergum, and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who are coming to Athens to participate in the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC).
These are the two seasoned diplomats who will work with Kimberly Guilfoyle
The two experienced diplomats at the US Embassy will now work on an almost daily basis with new Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle. They will brief and advise her on a wide range of issues without seeking the spotlight. Josh Huck, who is now the number two at the American Embassy, has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for policy formation regarding Southern Europe and the Caucasus. Previously, he served as Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs, with responsibility for Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Turkey. Since joining the diplomatic service, he has served in Shanghai, Tokyo, Sofia, Rangoon, Taipei, and Hong Kong. He has also taken on several posts in Washington, including the Office of Chinese Affairs and the Office of Korean Affairs. Additionally, he has served as director of the office of the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell. Josh Huck holds a degree from Johns Hopkins University, a graduate degree from the International University of Japan, and speaks Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, and Bulgarian.
Jay Raman, who also recently arrived in Athens, has assumed the role of Director of Public Affairs at the US Embassy. He joined the US State Department in 2002 and until recently was Director of the Office of International Media Engagement in the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs. He has served, besides the US, in Colombia, Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Estonia, and the Dominican Republic. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Director of the Cultural Programs Division in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a degree in International Studies from the University of Tennessee.
The fact that energy cooperation is among Washington’s top priorities in its relations with Athens was already evident from Josh Huck’s early statements. “Without Greece’s leadership role, the Vertical Corridor of Natural Gas would not be feasible,” he emphasized in early September, on the sidelines of his visit to Thessaloniki and the TIF. “Greece, as we see, plays an absolutely critical role in the Vertical Corridor,” he noted characteristically. “Greece,” he added, “has done truly exceptional work in positioning itself as an energy hub, in a way that wasn’t the case if we look back 10-20 years – it simply wasn’t the case.”
