Karen Pierce was appointed as Britain's new ambassador to the US on Friday, the first woman to hold the position.
“It is a time of huge opportunity for the friendship between the UK and US and I am delighted that Karen Pierce will take forward this exciting new chapter in our relationship”, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday.
Her predecessor, Kim Darroch, caused a storm of criticism from President Trump when he called the US administration “dysfunctional” and “inept” in a series of leaked diplomatic messages.
Darroch called the Trump government “incoherent,” saying the president was indebted to “dodgy Russians” and was sceptical as to whether the Trump White House would "ever look competent.”
“We don’t really believe this administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept,” one message said.
The president responded with outrage when Darroch’s views on his administration emerged in leaked diplomatic documents first published by the Mail on Sunday newspaper in the UK.
The wacky Ambassador that the U.K. foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy. He should speak to his country, and Prime Minister May, about their failed Brexit negotiation, and not be upset with my criticism of how badly it was...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2019
The appointment of the 60-year old Pierce, who currently serves as the UK’s ambassador to the United Nations, comes as Britain looks towards negotiating a trade deal with the US following its withdrawal from the European Union at the end of January.
