US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell resigns
1 April 2014 12:09 AM GMT
‘US Ambassador to India Nancy J Powell announced in a US Mission Town Hall meeting 31 March that she has submitted her resignation to President Obama and, as planned for some time, will retire to her home in Delaware before the end of May,’ an announcement in the US Embassy website said tonight.
There was media speculation a week ago that Ms Powell would be replaced with a political appointment by the Obama administration. The report had said Ms Powell had dragged her heels on meeting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and was perceived as being ‘too close’ to the UPA’s foreign policy establishment.
However, when Washington decided to warm upto Mr Modi, perceived as one of the frontrunners for the Prime Minister’s post, Ms Powell met Mr Modi on 13 February, ending a nine-year-old boycott of the Gujarat leader on the issue of 2002 riots. The US move marked a U-turn in its earlier stand of having nothing to do with Mr Modi, whose visa it cancelled in 2005.
The US embassy statement did not give a reason why Ambassador Nancy Powell had resigned, saying only that she would retire from the foreign service after a 37-year-long career. Embassy sources did not want to hazard a guess on the decision of the 67-year-old career service officer to quit her post at a time when India is in an election process and Washington is also deeply interested in its outcome.
There was media speculation a week ago that Ms Powell would be replaced with a political appointment by the Obama administration. The report had said Ms Powell had dragged her heels on meeting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and was perceived as being ‘too close’ to the UPA’s foreign policy establishment.
However, when Washington decided to warm upto Mr Modi, perceived as one of the frontrunners for the Prime Minister’s post, Ms Powell met Mr Modi on 13 February, ending a nine-year-old boycott of the Gujarat leader on the issue of 2002 riots. The US move marked a U-turn in its earlier stand of having nothing to do with Mr Modi, whose visa it cancelled in 2005.
The US embassy statement did not give a reason why Ambassador Nancy Powell had resigned, saying only that she would retire from the foreign service after a 37-year-long career. Embassy sources did not want to hazard a guess on the decision of the 67-year-old career service officer to quit her post at a time when India is in an election process and Washington is also deeply interested in its outcome.
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