U.S. Senate unanimously approves John Heffern as ambassador to Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Senate voted by unanimous consent Monday, September 26 night to approve John Heffern’s nomination as U.S. ambassador to Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“Although we remain disappointed with a number of his responses to Senate inquiries, we look forward, in the coming months and years, to working with ambassador Heffern to expand U.S.-Armenia relations on the basis of commonly-held values and shared interests, with particular focus on the bilateral trade and investment issues,” commented ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, upon Heffern’s confirmation. “Ambassador Heffern can play a vital role in expanding U.S.-Armenia trade, which has yet to reach the $200 million a year mark, by leading the way toward a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and an updated Double Taxation Treaty. With these accords in place and a firm commitment by all stake-holders to act decisively and pro-actively, there is no reason we can’t reach more than a billion dollars a year in bilateral trade within the next five years.”

By contrast, U.S. ambassador to Turkey nominee Francis Ricciardone, who was to be fast-tracked for consideration on the floor, along with the nomination of John Heffern, has yet to be scheduled for Senate confirmation.

Heffern is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission at USNATO, Brussels. Prior to his current post, Heffern served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Executive Assistant to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia.

Heffern’s career has also included overseas assignments to Japan, Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Guangzhou, China. From 1994-1996, he served as a Pearson Fellow on the Asia Sub-Committee for the House International Relations Committee. Prior to entering the Foreign Service, he served in the Office of Senator John C. Danforth as the Senator’s Office Director and Research Assistant. He Heffern received a B.A. from Michigan State University.

Heffern replaces Marie Yovanovitch, who returned to the U.S. in June to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Northern and Central Europe.