ABOVE: Rufus Gifford, photo via Gifford’s Facebook page.
Rufus Gifford, who was one of seven openly gay ambassadors during the Obama administration before becoming an early supporter of President Biden in the 2020 campaign, has officially obtained the nod for the position as State Department chief of protocol.
A White House announcement on presidential nominations on May 28 lists Gifford as one of three new picks for upcoming roles in the Biden administration. Each of the nominations is subject to Senate confirmation, including Gifford’s.
Gifford’s nomination was expected. The media outlet Axios reported in January Gifford would obtain the nomination as chief of protocol for the State Department. The official is responsible for being on the front-lines of engagement in U.S. foreign policy, which means being the gateway between foreign leaders and the president.
For example, Gifford would likely be a point person between Biden and Vladimir Putin for their upcoming summit next month in Switzerland, making an openly gay man the face of the United States for a country in talks with a leader who has rolled back LGBTQ rights and looked the other way from violence against LGBTQ people in Chechnya.
No stranger to foreign policy, Gifford served during the Obama administration as U.S. ambassador to Denmark, a role he obtained after his work as a fundraiser for the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
During the 2020 presidential primary, Gifford early on endorsed Biden for president and became a top adviser and deputy campaign manager for the campaign.
According to his White House, Gifford is actively engaged as a civil society leader and has promoted and sponsored a variety of organizations, including UTEC in Lowell, Massachusetts, the LGBT History Museum in New York, the Human Rights Campaign and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Mass. Gifford received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1996.
