Jeffrey D. Levine was sworn in as the new United States Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia during a July 24 ceremony in Washington, DC.
Under Secretary of State Patrick F. Kennedy administered the oath of office in the ornate Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State. Levine is the eighth U.S. ambassador since the restoration of Estonia’s Independence and re-establishment of full diplomatic ties between the two countries over twenty years ago.
In his remarks, Ambassador Levine said that he is looking forward to strengthening the close cooperation between the United States and Estonia. He added that “Estonia has emerged as a vibrant, free-market democracy, a committed NATO ally and a close friend of the United States. It is a leader in cyber-security, e-governance, and technological innovation — active around the world.”
While pointing out Estonia’s valuable development cooperation "from Tunisia to Mongolia and from Moldova to Libya," Ambassador Levine also acknowledged Estonia’s contributions and sacrifices as a NATO partner in Afghanistan.
Over 100 guests attended the event, including a number of local Estonian-Americans. On July 13, six of them met with Ambassador Levine to discuss issues of common interest and concern. Those participating at that briefing were Marju Rink-Abel of the Estonian American National Council; Jaak Pedak, Karl Altau, Piret Mägi of JBANC, along with Toivo Tagamets and Maria Pedak-Kari.
Ambassador Levine plans to leave for Estonia in early September. His predecessor, career diplomat Michael C. Polt, left the post on July 22.
For Ambassador Levine’s comments at the swearing-in, please see:
http://estonia.usembassy.gov/swearing-in_072412.html
JBANC
