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Five months after she was nominated as the US Ambassador to Kenya, billionaire Meg Whitman is yet to take up the role in Nairobi.
President Joe Biden nominated Whitman, a former Hewlett-Packard (HP) CEO, for the position in December last year.
The White House says her nomination, which was made on December 8th last year, is pending approval by the US Senate.
The White House Presidential Personnel Office in an update published on its website on April 22nd listed Nairobi as one of the diplomatic outposts that remain vacant. No reasons were given for the vacancy.
Whitman was expected to take over from Eric Kneedler, who became chargé d´affaires ad interim for Kenya in January following the exit of Kyle McCarter, who served as the US ambassador to Kenya from 2019 to 2021.
“Kenya is a strategic partner of the United States, and if confirmed, I look forward to working with the Kenyan government on a wide variety of issues to advance peace, prosperity, and health in the country and throughout the region,” Whitman said in a statement following her nomination in December.
Whitman, commonly known by her nickname “Meg”, served as the CEO of Hewlett-Packard and then Hewlett Packard Enterprise from 2011 to 2017.
The 65-year-old currently serves on the board of Procter & Gamble and General Motors. She is worth an estimated 4.5 billion USD, according to Forbes.
Whitman, a billionaire former Republican, was a key financier of Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.