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Dumas native confirmed as Congo ambassador Saturday, Aug 2, 2008 Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Dumas native Alan Eastham was confirmed by the Senate on Friday to become U.S. ambassador to the Republic of the Congo. Eastham, 56, is currently ambassador to Malawi. President Bush appointed him to the new post in June. He enjoyed an smooth confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month. The same panel on Tuesday recommended his nomination to the full Senate. There was no opposition. "I'm grateful to the president for nominating me for this position and am delighted that the Senate has concurred," Eastham said Friday. He said he will start work in the Congo in October. While there, he will oversee construction of a new U.S. embassy set to open next year and will seek to protect American interests in Africa's fifth-largest oil producing country. The Republic of the Congo has 3.8 million people. Eastham has been a State Department employee since 1975. He and his wife, Carolyn, a Morrilton native, have two college-aged sons. Eastham graduated from Hendrix College in Conway. |
