US: Biden picks Michael Ratney as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

President Joe Biden intends to nominate career diplomat Michael Ratney to be US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the White House said on Friday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Ratney, who was previously the charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the US special envoy for Syria, would be the first career diplomat to serve as ambassador to Riyadh in three decades.

Ratney, whose official biography says he speaks Arabic and French, has previously been deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Doha and has had tours in Mexico City, Baghdad, Beirut, Casablanca, Bridgetown, and Washington.