The position of United States ambassador to Italy has remained vacant since early 2021. Why this is so has remained something of an ongoing mystery to onlookers. Perhaps even more so given the importance of the relationship between the two countries.
But the Biden administration may have settled on their preferred candidate to nominate for the position. Reports indicate that Jack Markell's name will be submitted for potential confirmation by the United States Senate.
Markell is currently the United States ambassador to the OECD
Wanted in Rome indicates that Jack Markell is expected to become the new U.S.
ambassador to Italy. Markell has been serving as the ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation in Europe. An office that also requires Senate confirmation. In his role at the OECD, Markell has been based in Paris, France.
Like President Joe Biden, Markell is a native of the State of Delaware. He was born and raised there in Newark, near Wilmington. Markell's father was a faculty member at the University of Delaware; his mother was a social worker. He later obtained degrees from Brown University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Afterward, Markell worked for First Chicago Bank, followed by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Eventually, he became an executive with what would become Nextel Communications - a name that Markell reportedly created.
From Nextel, he took on a senior role with Comcast Corporation.
In 1998, Markell was elected as treasurer of Delaware, defeating Republican incumbent Janet Rzewincki. He would be re-elected to the office twice in the years to follow. In 2008, Markell was elected as the state's governor. He defeated then-Lieutenant Governor John Carney in the Democratic primary.
Carney was later elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was eventually going on to win the governorship in 2016 and 2020.
Markell defeated Republican former Delaware Superior Court Judge William Swain Lee in a landslide in the 2008 general election. His 2012 re-election bid was successful by an even wider margin over Republican businessman Jeff Craig.
Maloney is likely to succeed him at the OECD
Sean Patrick Maloney is believed to be the pick to succeed Markell in his current role, Axios reports. Maloney is a former United States House of Representatives member from the 18th District of New York.
Maloney was the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2022 election cycle. In that role, he helped House Democrats achieve a much better-than-expected result. But he was defeated that year. Following re-districting, he was running in New York's 17th District, losing to Republican State Assemblyman Mike Lawler. Maloney's career has also included two Democratic primary runs for New York's attorney general.
Maloney is a native of Canada, born to American parents. His family would eventually settle in Hanover, New Hampshire. He later graduated from the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law.
