Credit: un photo /   Kelly Craft,   US Ambassador to the United Nations 

By Gary  Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – The UNITED STATES  sits in the powerful Presidency seat of the UN Security Council for the month of December. The U.S. took over the rotating Presidency from the United Kingdom, which held it in November.   The U.S.  Global Theme for the month will be “Peacekeeping Performance” and “The Role of Philanthropy in Post-Conflict situations.”  Kelly Craft, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will serve as the President of the Security Council during the one month period.    Ambassador Craft met the press briefly outside the chambers of the Security Council Monday following  the Council’s  adoption  its Program of Work for December.  Craft spoke with excitement about having an upcoming dinner soiree with President Trump, college basketball, Kentucky bourbon, and a bit of world affairs. 

“So, you know, I plan on reflecting on the last 11 months and what did we do that was positive. How can we improve upon areas of the, you know, the revolving topics and really make it give us more credibility. I think that’s really important. And then, I just gave them just a little glimpse into what we are going to be doing off premises. Which we are going to be traveling to D.C. on Thursday for lunch with the President, so we’re very excited about that,” Ambassador Craft told reporters.

Ambassador Craft To Travel To Home State Kentucky With Council Members

Craft will be traveling with members of the UN Security Council to D.C. and then to Frankfort and Lexington, Kentucky next weekend.  Sources said each Security Council member is responsible for paying his or her own travel and lodging to Kentucky.

Credit: un photo / Eskinder Debebe /  Kelly Craft, new Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, briefs press after attending Security Council meetings.

“Well, well Friday evening dinner in Frankfort, Kentucky at the governor’s mansion. Saturday we will be having our sofa talks and our informal meetings at Alltech and then we will all be enjoying a Kentucky basketball game after that and then dinner. And then Sunday, we will be going into the bourbon country into Frankfort to do a barrel pick. So we will be bottling our own bourbon, our own bottle of bourbon to bring back, so,”

the U.S. ambassador said.

Until September,  the  crucial American diplomatic  post remained vacant a record seven months after Trump’s first UN envoy Nikki Haley resigned last year to spend more time with her family.  Craft was  the first woman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Canada.  She is married to billionaire coal-mining executive Joe Craft, and they are major Republican donors.  Many view Craft as a weak choice for the crucial U.S. diplomatic posting. Craft is little known in diplomatic circles.  She also has no previous deep diplomatic experience.  Craft will be in global spotlight this month as the President of the powerful UN Security Council.