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ARGENTINA | 07-11-2024 14:11

Wanted: Republican-friendly name for Argentina's vacant post in Washington

Reacting to Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s US election, President Javier Milei’s government is on the search for Gerardo Werthein's successor as ambassador to the United States. Top of the wishlist? An individual with good ties to the Republican party.

Reacting to Donald Trump’s stunning victory in Tuesday’s US presidential election, President Javier Milei’s government is drawing up a shortlist of names for Argentina’s top vacancy in Washington.

Milei, 53, is eager to appoint a successor to former US ambassador Gerardo Werthein in the coming days, according to local media reports, and is seeking a candidate with good ties with the US president-elect and the Republican party he leads.

Werthein, the new man in charge at the Palacio San Martín, has been tasked with identifying his replacement in Washington.

Speaking in a television interview on Wednesday, he said the new envoy’s links would be of vital importance to the government in the wake of Trump's win.

“We thought it was very important to wait for the result of the election [in the United States]. It is a very important post, perhaps the most important of all the embassies,” said Werthein.

“We are going to discuss it with the President,” added the foreign minister.

Werthein has already begun reshaping the Foreign Ministry in Milei’s image, ejecting officials closely linked to Mondino. Last week, the President declared that he would order an “audit” of Argentina’s foreign service to ensure they follow his lead.

Described in the local media as a “purge,” the first to go was Héctor Marcelo Cima, the Foreign Ministry’s international economic relations secretary.

Cima, a former ambassador to the European Union, United Nations and World Trade Organisation, has been a member of the foreign service since 1985.
 

In the running

No clear favourite has emerged for the US ambassador post despite increased speculation in the local press. 

One prominent candidate is said to be the President's chief economic adviser Demian Reidel, who has good ties with billionaire businessman Elon Musk, a key Trump ally. 

Earlier this week, Reidel celebrated the Republican leader’s win in a post on social media, describing the US as “a key ally for Argentina.

“A Donald Trump administration is great news for the country. Milei and Trump have a great relationship - Milei is even a friend!” he said in a post on the X social network owned by Musk.

Another frontrunner is Argentina’s current ambassador to the UN, Francisco Tropepi, a career diplomat who seconded Werthein during his time at the US Embassy in the United States. He has served as ambassador to Israel since July 2020.

Experienced economist and ex-YPF boss Guillermo Nielsen, the nation’s current ambassador to Paraguay, has also been tipped.

Veteran politician Daniel Scioli, the Peronist leader who lost the 2015 election to former Mauricio Macri and today serves as Milei’s Tourism, Environment & Sports secretary, has also put himself forward for the role. 

Werthein, who argues that the Foreign Ministry “audit” is not based on “political ideology,” said in his interview that Argentina’s diplomats should understand President Milei’s positions on international issues. 

“You only had to watch and listen to his speeches and presentations because it is the obligation of those of us who work in the foreign service: to understand where the president is going,” he argued.

He predicted that Trump’s victory would be good news for Argentina in the immediate future.

“I think [President Milei] had a formal relationship with President [Joe] Biden. With Trump, there is a closer, more friendly relationship. Personal relationships always contribute,” said Mondino's successor.

 

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL

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