The U.S. Senate has confirmed Richard Morningstar as the new U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, the Senate said on its website.
President Barack Obama nominated Morningstar for the currently vacant post in April and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved his candidacy last week.
Morningstar was appointed Special Envoy of the U.S. Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy in 2009. He previously served as Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Assistance to the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union and later as Special Advisor for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. He was U.S. Ambassador to the European Union in 1999-2001.
The last U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, Matthew Bryza, completed his term at the end of 2011.
