US Appoints New Ambassador to South Africa

The United States had been without an ambassador to South Africa since the departure of Patrick Gaspard in January 2017.

But now President Trump has appointed the owner of a luxury handbag brand, Lana Marks, to take up the post.

Marks held her first press conference at the US Consulate in Sandton yesterday, having arrived in the country over the weekend, and explained her top priority was to make the US South Africa’s number one trading partner.

She also spoke of her desire for President Trump to visit the rainbow nation, saying “he personally told me how beautiful Cape Town was”.

South African-born Marks grew up in East London, and speaks Afrikaans and a bit of Xhosa, showing off her skills when answering questions.

She was sworn in as ambassador after a lengthy confirmation process in the US Senate, a delay she put down to the fact that she has visited 110 countries on business leading to a protected vetting process.

The ambassador described South Africa as “the democratic and economic leader of the world’s fastest growing continent”, and said she hoped to be a “matchmaker” for local companies wishing to expand into the US market.