Jeff Gunter | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Iceland | |
In office July 2, 2019 –January 20, 2021 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Robert C. Barber |
Succeeded by | Carrin Patman |
Personal details | |
Born | January 31,1961 |
Political party | Democratic (before 2018) Republican (2018–present)[ citation needed ] |
Education | University of California,Berkeley (BA) University of Southern California (MD) |
Jeffrey Ross Gunter (born January 31,1961 [1] ) is an American dermatologist,healthcare executive,and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Iceland from 2019 to 2021. [2] [3] [4] Gunter is a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Nevada in the 2024 election.
Gunter graduated from Beverly Hills High School. [5] He received his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of California,Berkeley in 1983 and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the USC School of Medicine in 1987. [6]
Gunter completed his residency in 1991 at the Los Angeles General Medical Center,where he served as the chief resident of dermatology. [5]
In addition to practicing dermatology,Gunter served as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. [5]
On August 21,2018,Trump nominated Gunter to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Iceland. [5] The Senate took no action on the nomination,which expired on January 3,2019,at the end of the 115th Congress. [7] Trump then renominated Gunter on January 16,2019,at the outset of the 116th Congress. On May 23,2019,following a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,Gunter was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote. [8] Gunter presented his credentials on July 2,2019. [2]
Gunter had never visited Iceland prior to his nomination to the ambassadorship. [9]
In July 2020, CBS News reported that Gunter was "paranoid" about his security in the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, despite its status as one of the world's safest cities. Gunter asked the State Department to seek special permission from the Icelandic government for him to carry a gun, had requested to wear a "stab-proof vest" and have door-to-door armored car service. [10] Three diplomatic sources interviewed by CBS News said that Gunter was persuaded not to arm himself because doing so would be perceived as insulting to Iceland; the embassy nevertheless placed an advertisement in the Icelandic press seeking full-time Icelandic bodyguards, which CBS News' sources described as a way to "placate Gunter's 'irrational' concerns." [10]
According to those interviewed by CBS News, the work climate at the Embassy in Reykjavik was "untenable" under Gunter's leadership. In fewer than two years on the job, Gunter had seven deputy chiefs of mission (DCMs). (The deputy chief of mission is the second-highest position at the embassy.) [10] One DCM was reportedly rejected by Gunter because the ambassador "didn't like the look of him" at their first meeting. [10] The second DCM spent only six months in Iceland, and was followed a series of short-term temporary DCMs with whom Gunter reportedly clashed. [10] CBS News also reported that Gunter "accused others of various, unsubstantiated infractions, including trying to undermine him to Washington and being complicit with the 'deep state.'" [10]
In February 2020, after taking personal leave after a conference in Washington, Gunter refused to return to his post in Reykjavik. The State Department attributed Gunter's delayed return to Iceland to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, "multiple sources in Washington, Reykjavík, and elsewhere said Gunter wanted to work remotely from California and told senior officials he would not go back overseas unless expressly ordered to do so by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo". [10] A series of senior State Department officials failed to persuade Gunter to return. After Pompeo called him, Gunter returned to Iceland in May 2020. [10] Gunter is controversial in Iceland, with many objecting to his description of COVID-19 as "the Invisible China Virus!" on Twitter. [10]
In late October 2020, Icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið reported that an employee of the embassy had contracted COVID-19. The article also stated that the relocation of the embassy was fast-tracked despite the fact that an employee had contracted the coronavirus. Gunter reportedly sought to ensure that the move would be complete before the upcoming US presidential election. [11] Following the publication, the US embassy Facebook page posted a statement claiming the article was “irresponsible,” “shameful,” and “fake news.” [12] The statement asserted that the embassy was “one of the safest havens from COVID-19 in Reykjavík.” The post incorrectly claimed that Iceland had one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in Europe. [13]
In 2021, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General released a report indicating that Gunter had created a "'threatening and intimidating environment'" at the embassy. [14]
Gunter was registered as a Democrat in California, but did not contribute to Democratic candidates. [14] Gunter's dermatology practice began in California in 1992 and expanded to Nevada in 1995; he changed his residency to Nevada in 2019. [15]
He has a history of donating to Republican Party candidates and is a member of the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition. [16] In 2016, he donated $58,563 to several state Republican Party organizations, $33,400 to the Republican National Committee and $5,400 (the maximum contribution) to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. [5] Gunter also gave $100,000 to the Trump Victory PAC and $100,000 to Trump's inaugural committee. [9]
Gunter is running the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Nevada in 2024, seeking to challenge Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen. [14] In the Republican primary, he is running against Sam Brown, former state Representative Jim Marchant, former lieutenant governor candidate Tony Grady, and nine other candidates. [14] [17]
Republican Party leaders discouraged Gunter from entering the 2024 race, in part because of his record as ambassador and in part because he had not previously voted in any Nevada election. [14] The National Republican Senatorial Committee and its chair Steve Daines, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, instead supported Brown. [14] [17] The Koch network's Americans for Prosperity Action super PAC also ran ads in support of Brown. [14] On the campaign trail, Gunter emphasized his loyalty to Trump, described himself as a "staunch supporter" of Trump and what he called Trump's "brilliant" policies, [14] and airing a television add calling himself "110% pro-Trump" and using Trump slogans. [17] During the race, Gunter declined to say whether he believed the 2020 elections was "stolen" from Trump, declined to say whether he supported a national restriction on abortion, and expressed uncertainty on the causes of climate change. [15]
Cornelis Piet "Pete" Hoekstra is a Dutch-American politician who served as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands from January 10, 2018, to January 17, 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 2nd congressional district from 1993 to 2011.
Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 16th governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the ambassador of the United States to Russia from 2017 to 2019, ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011, and ambassador to Singapore from 1992 to 1993.
Richard Bernard Stone was an American politician who served as a Democratic United States Senator from Florida from 1975 to 1980 and later served as Ambassador at Large to Central America and Ambassador to Denmark.
Dean Arthur Heller is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator representing Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 15th secretary of state of Nevada from 1995 to 2007 and U.S. representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2011. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Brian Sandoval and elected to a full term in the 2012 election. Heller unsuccessfully ran for a second term in 2018, losing to Democrat Jacky Rosen. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Nevada in 2022.
Steven David Daines is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States senator from Montana since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Montana's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015.
Daniel Scott Sullivan is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Alaska since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Sullivan previously served as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 to 2013, and as the Alaska Attorney General from 2009 to 2010.
The 2020 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 2020, with the 33 class 2 seats of the Senate contested in regular elections. Of these, 21 were held by Republicans, and 12 by Democrats. The winners were elected to 6-year terms from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2027. Two special elections for seats held by Republicans were also held in conjunction with the general elections: one in Arizona, to fill the vacancy created by John McCain's death in 2018; and one in Georgia, following Johnny Isakson's resignation in 2019. These elections ran concurrently with the 2020 United States presidential election in which incumbent president Donald Trump lost to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Jeb Bush, the 43rd Governor of Florida, was formally launched on June 14, 2015, coming six months after announcing the formal exploration of a candidacy for the 2016 Republican nomination for the President of the United States on December 16, 2014, and the formation of the Right to Rise PAC. On February 20, 2016, Bush announced his intention to drop out of the presidential race following the South Carolina primary. Had Bush been elected, he would have been the first president from Florida and the first sibling of a U.S. president to win the presidency himself.
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president, Donald Trump, and vice president, Mike Pence. The election took place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic and related recession. The election saw the highest voter turnout by percentage since 1900, with each of the two main tickets receiving more than 74 million votes, surpassing Barack Obama's record of 69.5 million votes from 2008. Biden received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in a U.S. presidential election.
William Francis Hagerty IV is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat serving as the junior United States senator from Tennessee since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 30th United States ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019 under President Donald Trump.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.
Kelly Dawn Craft is an American businesswoman, politician, and former diplomat who served as the 30th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2019 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. She was confirmed as the US ambassador to the United Nations by the US Senate by a vote of 56–34, and was officially sworn in September 2019.
Carla J. Sands is an American businesswoman who is chair and CEO of Vintage Capital Group. During the Trump administration (2017–21) she was U.S. ambassador to Denmark.
John Edward James is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 10th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was its nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020.
Philip Scott Kosnett is an American diplomat. He was sworn in as the fifth U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo on November 27, 2018. Kosnett's previous assignment was as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim at the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Kosnett was nominated in July 2018 by U.S. president Trump to be the next ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo. The Senate confirmed him in this position in September 2018. Kosnett arrived in Kosovo in December 2018 and departed post in September 2021.
The 2024 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections. Thirty-three of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested in regular elections. Senators are divided into three classes whose six-year terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 1 senators will face election in 2024.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Connecticut.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Nevada will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Nevada. Incumbent Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, elected in 2018 over incumbent Republican Dean Heller, is seeking a second term in office. Primary elections are scheduled to take place on June 11, 2024.
William W. Popp is an American diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Uganda since September 2023. He previously served as the United States ambassador to Guatemala.
Jeffrey M. Hovenier is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Kosovo since 2022.