Biden to Nominate Skater Kwan, Caroline Kennedy as Ambassadors

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden plans to nominate former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan to be U.S. ambassador to Belize, and Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy and a former ambassador to Japan, to be ambassador to Australia.

Kwan became a State Department official and global envoy under former President Barack Obama following her skating career, in which she won five world championships and two Olympic medals. She also worked on the presidential campaigns of both Biden and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

She’s currently the treasurer and a board member of Special Olympics International.

Kennedy was ambassador to Japan under Obama from 2013 to 2017. She’s long been an advocate for public education and is honorary president of her father’s presidential library foundation.

Kennedy pointed in a statement that her father had been rescued off the coast of Australia during World War II, when he was serving in the U.S. Navy. If confirmed to the post by the Senate, she said, she’ll “work hard to repay this debt.” 

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