Know Who Is Eric Garcetti, Mayor Of Los Angeles, Nominated As Envoy To India By Joe Biden

If confirmed by the Senate, Kenneth Juster would be replaced by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was nominated by US Vice President Joe Biden.

Image: AFP

Los Angeles: United States President Joe Biden named Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as his ambassador to India on Friday. Garcetti, 50, would succeed Kenneth Juster if confirmed by the Senate.

Earlier this week, Juster was named a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Who is Eric Garcetti?

• Garcetti has been the Mayor of Los Angeles since 2013, following 12 years in the City Council, including six as Council President, according to a White House press release.
• Garcetti has extensive administrative experience, having overseen the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere, the country's largest municipal utility, and one of the busiest airports. For the first time in three decades, he led the city's successful quest to bring the summer Olympic Games back to American soil. He also chairs LA Metro, the US's second-busiest transit agency, which is building or extending 15 new transit lines, and shifting to an all-electric fleet.
• Climate change advocacy: Garcetti co-founded Climate Mayors and oversaw the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement by more than 400 US mayors. He is the current Chair of C40 Cities, a global network of 97 of the world's most populous cities committed to taking ambitious climate action, and has overseen the organization's engagement and expansion in India. In addition, he was in charge of the C40's global reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic through the sharing of best practices and resources.
• Garcetti served in the United States Navy Reserve Component as an Intelligence Officer for 12 years. Garcetti worked for the Commander, US Pacific Fleet, and the Defense Intelligence Agency until retiring as a Lieutenant in 2017.
• He studied at Queen's College, Oxford, and the London School of Economics and Political Science as a Rhodes Scholar. Garcetti taught at Occidental College's Department of Diplomacy and World Affairs, as well as the University of Southern California's School of International Relations, and was named an inaugural Asia 21 Fellow of the Asia Society.

In Southeast Asia and Northeast Africa, he did fieldwork on nationalism, ethnicity, and human rights. According to the White House, he is the founder of the Latino Alliance of Mayors at the United States Conference of Mayors, serves on the Board of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and speaks fluent Spanish.

According to The Washington Post, Garcetti has recently been embroiled in controversy in Los Angeles. A Los Angeles police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying that Garcetti's former top aide Rick Jacobs harassed him and that Garcetti did not stop the behavior. Jacobs has denied the allegations, and Garcetti has said he did not witness any inappropriate behavior. Also, Garcetti’s chief of staff, Ana Guerrero, was suspended in June after mocking labor icon Dolores Huerta.

 

As per the AP report, one of Garcetti's former deputy mayors was indicted on corruption charges in an ongoing federal investigation at City Hall.