Mr. Blankenship announced his resignation on June 5.
Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy, Brian Bachman, said Tuesday that Bob Watajewski, the Deputy Chief of Mission, will assume the role of Charge D’ Affairs, until another envoy is appointed by President George W. Bush.
In a telephone conversation, Mr. Bachman explained the selection process. He said a background check on Mr. Bush’s nominee would have to be made before the particular individual is notified.
“Once the background check is done, and assuming it comes out OK,” he said, “they will announce the name of the person, then it will be sent to the Senate for approval.
“The Senate, acting in its own time, may hold a hearing on the individual nomination and votes out of committee and then at the full Senate,” he said, noting that the process can take a “considerable” amount of time.
When a U.S. Ambassador is posted to another country, the individual selected must positively represent the policies of the President and the United States, in addition to having experience in one of many relevant areas, he said.
But of which area in particular, according to Mr. Bachman, “It is hard to say. It can be an awful lot of different things, but primarily, it has to be someone that the President has confidence in with carrying out his policies and this is the primary qualification.”
When asked concerning speculation that Mr. Blankenship was fired, Mr. Bachman’s response was that, “Rumours are rumours and we don’t comment on rumours.”
Mr. Blankenship’s shortened tenure – he was sworn in during the fall of 2001 – makes him the first U.S. envoy to leave before completing the assigned term in office.
According to a June 5 embassy press release, Ambassador Blankenship informed his staff that he had decided to return to the private sector and his business interests in Florida, where his family remained during his “tour” in The Bahamas.
Saying that he had accomplished many of his objectives in The Bahamas, Mr. Blankenship said that he could best continue to serve his country and the Bush Administration as a private citizen.
“Ambassador Blankenship’s decision to return to the private sector will allow him to take advantage of current business opportunities as well as to more actively commit his energies towards President’s Bush’s re-election,” the statement read.
A week earlier, on May 29, Mr. Blankenship, in a telephone interview, flatly denied that he was quitting, attributing the report to, “Too many drunks going around spreading rumours.”
Nonetheless, the outgoing envoy said that he was honored to have served as Bahamas Ambassador, and was deeply gratified to have been able to work with the people and Government of The Bahamas over the past two years.
He listed his successful efforts to reinvigorate joint counter-narcotics cooperation and the campaign to acquire and adopt new and sophisticated techniques to maximize joint Bahamian/U.S drug interdiction efforts, as some of more pride-worthy achievements.
On Monday, as a result of Mr. Blankenship’s efforts, the residents of the All Saints Camp of the St. John Divine, were provided with more reliable transportation.
Tomekah Burl, Economic/Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy, officially turned over to the Director of the All Saints Camp, Rev. Glenroy Nottage, a repaired 1995 Ford E350 Van that had been out of service since August 2001.
The repairs to the van were underwritten by the United States Embassy in the amount of $6,000, which followed a familiarization visit to the All Saints Camp by Ambassador Blankenship in April.
It was at that time that Reverend Nottage told Mr. Blankenship that one of the Camp’s most urgent needs was to have the van repaired.
According to Rev. Nottage, the 18-seater van is the Camp’s sole means of transportation, being used to transport patients to clinical visits, to pick-up patients for admissions, and transport goods for the residents at the Camp.
The Embassy also recognized Friendly Ford for its assistance in repairing the van. In addition to the van repairs, the embassy also repaired a freezer at a cost of approximately $500.
During his remaining two-week tenure, Mr. Blankenship is also expected to preside at U.S. 227th Independence celebrations at his residence on Friday.
A listing of United States envoys to The Bahamas includes:
* Ronald Spiers – September 1973 ﾖ September 1974
* Seymour Weiss – October 1974 ﾖ October 1976
* Jack Olson – December 1976 ﾖ May 1977
* William B. Schwartz – October 1977 ﾖ January 1981
* Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky – March 1983 ﾖ July 1986
* Carol Boyd Hallet – September 1986 ﾖ May 1989
* Chic Hecht – August 1989 ﾖ March 1993
* Sidney Williams – March 1994 ﾖ September 1998
* Arthur Schechter – October 1998 ﾖ May 2001
* J. Richard Blankenship – December 2001 ﾖ July 18, 2003.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
