Politico magazine, which specializes in US national security affairs, said that Mr. John Peter Pham will be a candidate to become the next US envoy to Africa and will take over the Sudan file in the new administration of President Donald Trump.
The magazine said, quoting what it described as “three American security sources” within the Trump administration, that Trump’s potential envoy to Africa will be the veteran Republican expert on African affairs, “John Peter Pham,” who will become the highest-ranking official in the State Department overseeing US-African affairs.
The magazine, which specializes in security affairs, added that according to three sources familiar with the file and authorized to speak – without revealing their identity – to discuss internal transition issues, Pham, who previously served as a special envoy to the Sahel and Great Lakes region in Africa during Trump’s first term, is the strongest candidate for the position and will succeed Mr. Tom Perrilio, President Joe Biden’s envoy.
The magazine added that if he is confirmed, Pham will be tasked with dealing with some of the most thorny issues of US national security on the agenda of the next administration, “including the ongoing threat from ISIS and other terrorist groups in Africa, China’s growing geopolitical influence across the continent, and the deadly civil war in Sudan.”
The sources said that the new administration is taking into account that the conflict in Sudan has turned the country into what is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world “and a hotbed of activity by foreign powers competing for influence there.” The magazine pointed out that the previous administration – Biden – accused and named one of the warring parties in Sudan, the “Rapid Support Forces militia” – a term that had not been used by semi-official media outlets before – of committing genocide this month, nearly a year after congressional leaders urged it to do so.
The magazine noted that it sought an official comment from a spokesman for the Trump transition team, but he did not comment, while Pham himself declined to comment on the news of his appointment.
The Atlanta Center for Strategic and National Studies describes John Peter Pham as a distinguished American academic and author specializing in international relations with a focus on African affairs.
Pham was the U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel in Africa from March 2020 until the end of the Trump administration in January 2021. He specializes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, East, North, and West Africa, Southern and Central Africa, and Sudan. He is fluent in three languages: English, French and Italian.
Pham is currently a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council since March 2021, after completing his public service as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Sahel with the personal rank of Ambassador.
Pham wrote in his academic biography on the Atlantic Center that he has written more than 300 articles and reviews and is the author, editor, or translator of more than a dozen books, including, most recently, *Somalia: Fixing Africa’s Most Failed State* (Tafelberg, 2013; co-authored with Greg Mills and David Kilcullen).
Dr. Pham also contributes to several publications including The National Interest and Foreign Policy, and appears regularly as a commentator on U.S. and non-U.S. print, broadcast, and radio media including CBS, BBC, Voice of America, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, USA Today, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Times of London, New Statesman, Maclean’s, Le Monde, and Le Tan.
He has been described as a strong advocate of strong U.S. engagement with Africa and served as a member of the USAID-funded International Republican Institute delegation to observe Liberia’s historic post-conflict national elections in 2005. He also served on IRI’s pre-election assessment (2006) and election observation delegations to Nigeria (2007, 2011) and Somaliland (2010).
Ambassador Pham has received numerous decorations and awards from African nations in recognition of his contributions throughout his career to strengthening U.S.-Africa relations, including the Commander of the National Order of Mali, the Commander of the National Order of Burkina Faso, the Officer of the National Order of Merit of Niger, the Commander of the National Order of Merit of Gabon, and the Commander of the Order of Friendship Among the Peoples of Burundi.
https://sudanhorizon.com/john-peter-pham-likely-to-become-us-envoy-to-africa-and-sudan/