Kerry welcomes Higginbottom as Deputy, Shannon as Counselor
US secretary of State John Kerry has tapped outgoing Ambassador to Brazil Tom Shannon to succeed Heather Higginbottom as his counselor.
Secretary of State John Kerry has welcomed the confirmation of Heather Higginbottom as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and announced that he has tapped outgoing Ambassador to Brazil Tom Shannon to succeed her as his Counselor, as the Back Channel reported was in the works.
"Having served as my Counselor since shortly after I arrived at State, Heather is well known to all of you," Kerry wrote in a note to the Department this week. "The President let me steal Heather back – which is only fair since he stole her from me in 2007. I know she will excel in this new challenge."
"Probably the worst kept secret in the Department is that I have asked Ambassador Tom Shannon to assume the role of Counselor and he has graciously agreed," Kerry continued. "Counselor Shannon has had a distinguished thirty-year career in the Foreign Service; most recently as our Ambassador to Brazil and as Senior Advisor to me these last months since his return from Brasilia."
Higginbottom was confirmed by the Senate last month.
