President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Thomas Hart Armbruster – Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Department of State
• David Bruce Wharton – Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe, Department of State

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

• William J. Shaw – Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

President Obama said, “Our nation will be greatly served by the talent and expertise these individuals bring to their new roles.  I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Thomas Hart Armbruster, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Department of State
Thomas Hart Armbruster, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, currently serves as a Diplomat-in-Residence at City College in New York.  Previously, from 2007 to 2010, he was the Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok, Russia.  From 2004 to 2006, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.  Other overseas assignments include: Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico (2000-2003); Political Affairs Officer (1999-2000) and Nuclear Affairs Officer (1997-1999) at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia; and Vice Consul at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba (1991-1993).  Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a reporter for the CBS affiliate KGMB-TV in Hawaii.  Mr. Armbruster holds a B.A. from McDaniel College, an M.A. from St. Mary’s University, and an M.S. from the Naval War College.

David Bruce Wharton, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe, Department of State
David Bruce Wharton, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of African Affairs at the Department of State.  He joined the Bureau of African Affairs in 2009 as Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, after a two-year assignment as Deputy Coordinator of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs.  From 2006 to 2007, he served in the Department’s Bureau of Human Resources and from 2003 to 2006, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala.  A member of the Foreign Service since 1985, Mr. Wharton’s additional overseas assignments include posts in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.  He received a B.A. from the University of Texas in Austin.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

The Reverend William J. Shaw, Appointee for Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
The Reverend William J. Shaw has served as Pastor of the White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia since 1956.  He is a Member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, having been appointed by President Obama in June 2010.  Reverend Shaw served as President of the National Baptist Convention, USA Inc. from 1999 to 2009.   He currently sits on the Board of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and has served as President of The Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Philadelphia and Vicinity, The Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia, and the Union Theological Seminary National Alumni Association.  From 1981 through 1994, he served as Director of the Ministers’ Division of the National Congress of Christian Education.  Reverend Shaw has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Unitas Award, given by the Alumni Association of the Union Theological Seminary and the T. B. Maston Foundation Christian Ethics Award from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Reverend Shaw has a B.A. from Bishop College, an M.A. from Union Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. from Colgate Rochester Divinity School.