Richard Grenell

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Richard Grenell (2018)

Richard Allen Grenell (born September 18, 1966 in Jenison , Michigan ) is an American political commentator and diplomat . From May 8, 2018 to June 1, 2020 he was the US Ambassador to Germany . On October 4, 2019, US President Donald Trump also appointed him special envoy for the peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo .

Grenell was the acting successor of the acting director of the US intelligence services , Joseph Maguire , in the Trump cabinet from February 21 to May 26, 2020 . He remained ambassador to Germany. In March 2020, he announced that he would resign as ambassador as soon as a permanent successor for his office as director of intelligence services was confirmed by the Senate. He announced his resignation on June 1, 2020 to the public on his personal Instagram account.

Life

Grenell belongs to the Republican Party . After his Bachelor's degree in Government and Public Administration at the Evangel University , an institution of Pentecostalism , Grenell earned a Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School . He was a commentator for Fox News .

In 2001, Grenell was named US Ambassador to the United Nations Spokesperson by President George W. Bush . He held this office under four ambassadors until September 2008, making him the longest-serving US press spokesman at the United Nations . He then worked as a freelance journalist, u. a. for Breitbart News Network .

When he joined the Romney presidential campaign in 2012 , Grenell made massive adjustments to his Twitter history . In May 2012, Grenell had to leave Romney's campaign team after a short time, allegedly because of ideological resistance to his sexual orientation.

Until he was appointed ambassador, Grenell ran a public relations firm. His clients included the Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc , which Grenell should have reported under the Foreign Agents Registration Act . Before Trump was named a presidential candidate, Grenell had described him as dangerous and instead supported John Kasich .

In March 2017, Breitbart announced prematurely that Grenell should become US ambassador to NATO ; in fact, the post went to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison . Grenell had previously been traded as a candidate for a post of ambassador of international importance, but he was also not given the post of UN ambassador.

After Nikki Haley's resignation as UN ambassador, Grenell was again traded as a possible successor, as was the dismissal of National Security Advisor John R. Bolton .

On February 21, 2020, Grenell was appointed acting US intelligence coordinator by Donald Trump and replaced by John Ratcliffe on May 26, 2020 .

Ambassador to Germany

In July 2017 it became known that Grenell was to be the US ambassador to Germany . After the Agrément , the White House announced its intention to nominate on September 1, 2017. The official nomination by President Trump came on September 5th.

While his confirmation by the Senate was held up for an unusually long time (the post was vacant for almost 15 months), Grenell commented on Twitter on the 2017 federal election by congratulating Jens Spahn even before he was appointed minister. On April 26, 2018, the Senate finally gave its approval and confirmed him as US ambassador for Germany. He officially took office on May 8, 2018 when he presented his letter of accreditation to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier .

On the same day, he asked the German economy to withdraw from business with Iran via Twitter . The content and form of the tweet were sharply criticized by German politicians and representatives of German business. The diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger advised Ambassador Grenell not to give instructions to his host country.

Grenell was generally controversial in Germany; he was accused of repeatedly violating diplomatic etiquette because he formulated direct instructions for action in the host country. He also repeatedly praised the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz , distributed several tweets from Bild editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt and criticized the German ambassador to Iran , Michael Klor-Berchtold . After the air strike on Damascus and Homs by the US and its allies, Grenell criticized Germany via Twitter for not having participated in the military strike.

On June 3, 2018, Breitbart News Network published an interview in which Grenell declared that he wanted to actively intervene in Europe to strengthen "conservative forces" . This as well as his invitation to the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz led to irritation in the federal government .

In 2019, Grenell renewed his call to Welt am Sonntag that the US sanctions on Iran should not be overturned through the INSTEX mechanism: " Avoiding American sanctions is not advisable." He also threatened companies that participate in Nordstream 2 with sanctions .

Grenell repeatedly warned the NATO goal that Germany's defense spending must increase. In this context, President Trump had indicated several times that the US could withdraw from NATO. In September 2018, however, the United States moved 1,500 additional soldiers to Germany. In May 2019, Germany reported significantly increased military investments. In August 2019 Grenell threatened again with the withdrawal of American troops from Germany.

Grenell traveled to several concentration camp memorials and unveiled a plaque for Dietrich Bonhoeffer in April 2019 .

After German governments had resisted this for years, in August 2018 the USA succeeded in deporting the Ukrainian concentration camp guard Jakiw Palij to Germany.

Another focus of Grenell's focus was on sanctions against Iranian terrorist financing. The Federal Aviation Authority Mahan Air withdrew the operating license in January 2019. In September 2019, Grenell called for Hezbollah to be banned in Germany. The ban took place in April 2020.

After Grenell had already announced in March that he would step down as ambassador as soon as the Senate had confirmed a DNI , he resigned as ambassador on June 1, 2020; until a new ambassador is appointed, Robin Quinville will take over the business of the embassy. On July 27, 2020, the Executive Office announced that President Trump would nominate Douglas Macgregor to succeed Grenell. The personnel has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

Serbia / Kosovo

After the US State Department named Matthew Palmer as special envoy for the Western Balkans in August 2019 , the White House made Grenell the special envoy of the president for Serbia and Kosovo. He had already received representatives from both countries in Berlin in April. Albin Kurti complained about the enormous pressure on Kosovo, through which Grenell wanted to force progress in the negotiations.

Private

In June 2013, Grenell announced that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma ; The chemotherapy started. In September 2013, Grenell announced that he was in remission .

In the United States, Grenell's appointment as ambassador to Germany was of particular public interest because it made him the highest-ranking openly gay politician in Trump's government apparatus . Grenell's significant other is Matt Lashey.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "We have to work hard every single day to maintain this transatlantic foundation." Speech by Friedrich Merz at the 2018 Atlantic Bridge Day.
  2. ↑ Grenell is no longer the US ambassador. n-tv , accessed June 2, 2020 .
  3. ↑ US Ambassador Grenell is supposed to mediate in the Balkans. tagesschau.de, accessed on October 4, 2019 .
  4. ↑ German US ambassador becomes secret service coordinator. tagesschau.de, accessed on February 20, 2020 . Berlin Ambassador Grenell becomes Trump's intelligence coordinator . In: Der Spiegel , February 20, 2020.
     
  5. ^ Carsten Luther: Loyalty as a key qualification. In: Die Zeit , February 20, 2020, accessed on February 20, 2020.
  6. ↑ Nick Visser: Richard Grenell, Acting Spy Chief, Sets Timeline For Giving Up Ambassador's Job. Huffpost , 2020, accessed July 19, 2020 .
  7. ^ Gay Bush Appointee Loses Appeal for Fair Treatment . In: The Advocate , September 27, 2008. 
  8. ↑ About . richardgrenell.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ Richard Grenell. In: Fox News. Accessed June 5, 2018 .
  10. ^ Gay Bush Appointee Loses Appeal for Fair Treatment. (September 27, 2008).
  11. ↑ Romney Adviser Richard Grenell Deletes More Than 800 tweets - Update: Wrote for Breitbart's Big Journalism .
  12. ↑ Michael Barbaro, Helene Cooper, Ashley Parker: Behind Richard Grenell's Departure, a Right-Wing Storm. In: The New York Times . May 2, 2012, accessed June 5, 2018 .
  13. ^ Isaac Arnsdorf: Trump's New Spy Chief Used to Work for a Foreign Politician the US Accused of Corruption. Richard Grenell did not disclose payments for advocacy work on behalf of a Moldovan politician whom the US later accused of corruption. His own office's policy says that could leave him vulnerable to blackmail. propublica.org, February 21, 2020, accessed February 22, 2020 .
  14. ↑ https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/21/grenell-trump-critic-116648
  15. ↑ Konrad Ege: Portrait - Trumps and God's servants. In: Friday . December 2, 2017, accessed on June 5, 2018 : "At the end of 2016, there were of course rumors at Fox that Grenell might become US Ambassador to the United Nations."
  16. ^ Andrew Restuccia: Trump considering Richard Grenell for UN ambassador. In: Politico , October 20, 2018, accessed March 5, 2020.
  17. ↑ According to Trump, Ambassador Grenell is not in the running as Bolton's successor. Donald Trump has five favorites to succeed his fired National Security Advisor, John Bolton. The US ambassador to Germany is not among them. In: Handelsblatt . September 18, 2019, accessed February 22, 2020 .
  18. ↑ dts: Acting director of the secret service: US personnel Grenell meets with criticism in Berlin. In: Pfalz-Express. February 21, 2020, accessed February 22, 2020 .
  19. ↑ dpa: US Ambassador Grenell wants to vacate post shortly. In: t-online.de. May 24, 2020, accessed May 25, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Trump intents to nominate Richard Grenell to ambassador to Germany. Washington Examiner, July 19, 2017, accessed July 19, 2017
  21. ^ President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts .
    Trump's husband in Berlin. FAZ.net, September 1, 2017.
  22. ↑ New chief diplomat in Berlin: Grenell becomes American ambassador to Germany .
  23. ↑ Richard Grenell on Twitter .
  24. ^ Forty-Six Nominations Sent to the Senate Today . Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved on September 17, 2017.
    Tagesschau : New US Ambassador: Trump supporter Grenell comes to Berlin on April 26, 2018.
  25. ↑ Accreditations. In: Internet site of the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany. May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018 .
  26. ↑ US demand: German companies should withdraw “immediately” from Iran . May 8, 2018.
  27. ↑ Iran instruction to German companies: Sharp criticism of the new US ambassador in Berlin . May 9, 2018.
  28. ↑ a b Rick Noack: Hours into his new job, Trump's ambassador to Germany offends his hosts . May 9, 2018.
  29. ↑ a b Grenell criticizes EU-Iran trade: "That is disregard for US policy". In Tagesschau.de , February 10, 2019, accessed on February 10, 2019.
  30. ↑ Richard Grenell on Twitter .
    Richard Grenell on Twitter .
  31. ↑ Richard Grenell on Twitter .
  32. ^ Karl Doemens: How Trump punched through the ambassador for Berlin and other Dumont publications.
  33. ↑ US Ambassador to Germany irritated with Essen für Kurz , welt.de, June 5, 2018, accessed on June 6, 2018.
  34. ^ Frankfurter Rundschau: Breitbart: US ambassador wants to support conservatives in Europe .
  35. ↑ https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/usa-truppen-deutschland-101.html
  36. ↑ https://www.fr.de/politik/nato-trumps-kritik-traegt-fruechte-deutschland-erhoeht-verteidigungsetat-fuenf-millionen-euro-12293208.html
  37. ↑ https://www.pro-medienmagazin.de/gesellschaft/gesellschaft/2019/04/13/us-botschafter-erinnert-an-theologen-dietrich-bonhoeffer/
  38. ↑ https://www.goettinger-tageblatt.de/Nachrichten/Ppolitik/Deutschland-Welt/KZ-Aufseher-Jakiv-Palij-aus-USA-nach-Deutschland-abgeschoben
  39. ↑ https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/betriebserlaubnis-entzüge-iranische-mahan-air-darf-nicht-mehr-nach-deutschland-fliegen/23890884.html
  40. ↑ https://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/article199758416/US-Botschafter-Grenell-fuer-Hisbollah-Verbot-in-Deutschland.html
  41. ↑ Controversial diplomat: Richard Grenell is to resign as US ambassador in Berlin . In: The world . May 24, 2020 ( welt.de [accessed May 24, 2020]).
  42. ^ After Richard Grenell's resignation: Robin Quinville becomes the new head of the US embassy www.tagesspiegel.de, June 3, 2020
  43. ↑ [ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-appoint-following-individuals-key-administration-posts-072720/ President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint the Following Individuals to Key Administration Posts: Colonel Douglas Macgregor, United States Army (Retired), of Pennsylvania, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federal Republic of Germany.] WhiteHouse.gov , July 27, 2020
  44. ↑ Roland Zschächner: inspection in the Balkans. US Special Envoy Grenell visits Belgrade and Pristina. Junge Welt , October 12, 2019, accessed on February 22, 2020 .
  45. ↑ https://twitter.com/usbotschaft/status/1123204932881002496?s=21
  46. ↑ https://www.npr.org/2020/06/05/870227931/how-a-trump-diplomat-helped-bring-down-kosovos-government?t=1591504509347
  47. ^ Joining the Fight . richardgrenell.com. June 10, 2013. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved on December 28, 2015.
  48. ^ Richard Grenell: I'm officially in remission. #CancerFree @cityofhope September 30, 2013 ( twitter.com ).
  49. ↑ dpa : Controversial topics: US ambassador speaks with Steinmeier. Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 8, 2018, accessed on May 8, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Grenell, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grenell, Richard Allen (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American commentator and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Jenison , Michigan