At 12:40 noon today, the new US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, is expected to present her credentials to the President of the Republic, Costas Tasoulas, as she formally assumes her new duties.

Working meetings

Already, Ms. Guilfoyle was already yesterday morning at the headquarters of the US diplomatic Authority, at Mavili Square, in an introductory meeting with her staff, with the Embassy account conveying that “the newly arrived Kimberly Guilfoyle met today with the team at the US Mission to Greece, sharing that the enduring strength of the US–Greece relationship stems from the commitment and dedication of Mission staff.”

“Every day, this team supports US business interests, protects American citizens in Greece, deepens our defense ties and much more!”, the Embassy concluded — and while the new ambassador exchanged views with staff also yesterday afternoon at the ambassadorial residence, she especially referenced the preparation that had preceded her arrival.

Having held her first working meetings with her associates yesterday, Ms. Guilfoyle will go immediately after today’s credential ceremony at the Presidential Mansion to the neoclassical building on Vasilissis Sofias, in order to meet early afternoon with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, as a copy of the credentials is, as is customary, submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The double appointment

Following this, tomorrow the new US ambassador will, according to information, cross for the first time in the morning the threshold of the Maximos Mansion, to hold a meeting with the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Within tomorrow, however, Ms. Guilfoyle is expected to be found for a second time, this time in the afternoon, at the government seat, accompanying the two Trump administration Secretaries, Doug Bergman and Energy Secretary Chris Wright respectively.

In their honor, moreover, Ms. Guilfoyle will host a private reception tomorrow night at the ambassadorial residence, a few days after her arrival in Athens, while she is expected to address the Greek audience during the organization of the 6th Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC), co-organized by the US Department of Energy, the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, November 6-7, at Zappeion.

A scent of woman

Meanwhile, Ms. Guilfoyle will be the third in sequence today to present her credentials to the President of the Hellenic Republic, Kostas Tassoulas, after the new Ambassadors of the Kingdom of Norway, Harriet Berg and of Canada, Sonya Thissen.

Harriet Berg served, among other positions, as Director of Human Rights, Democracy and Gender Equality at the Ministry, in Oslo, but also as Consul General in New York, while she has served as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry in the period 1997-2000. She has also worked for years in the private sector, and holds a postgraduate degree from Columbia University. In fact, she rushed with a video on social media to address Greek women and men on the occasion of assuming her duties.

At the same time, the new Canadian Ambassador, Sonya Thissen joined her country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1995. From 2009 to 2013, she served as deputy head of Canada’s protocol, responsible for high-level visits, including those related to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Abroad, she has served in France and the United Kingdom.