President George W. Bush has recently declared his intention to nominate Barry L. Wells of Ohio as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of The Gambia, a dispatch from the US Embassy in Banjul indicates. 

According to the release, Mr. Wells, a senior career civil servant in the State Department of the United States, currently serves as Director of the Office of Civil Rights and Chief Diversity Officer in that Department. The release further notes that Mr. Wells has served as Deputy Director of the Foreign Service Institute, the Department of State’s training institute for personnel of the foreign affairs community of the U.S. government. Earlier on in his career, he had served as a Country Director in the Peace Corps in Belize and Jamaica, respectively.

Mr. Wells received his Bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University and his Master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

The White House has forwarded the name of Ambassador-designate Wells to the United States Senate where the Committee on Foreign Relations will schedule hearings to confirm his nomination, explains the release. After completing its review of a nomination, the Committee recommends approval to the full Senate, which gives its consent. The several stages in this process may take some time. Therefore the Embassy in the Gambia does not expect the arrival of Ambassador-designate Wells until after the beginning of October.