Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman is the new U.S. Deputy Secretary of State (credit: elm.umaryland.edu)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The US Senate this week confirmed the nomination Wendy Sherman, a chief US negotiator for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, as deputy secretary of state by vote of 56-42. Sherman becomes the second in command at the U.S. State Department under Antony Blinken.
“Ambassador Sherman is one of the country’s foremost diplomats,” the Biden administration said in a statement. “She has successfully rallied the world to strengthen democracy and confront some of the biggest national security challenges of our time, including leading the U.S. negotiating team for the Iran Deal as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. During her four years as Undersecretary, she traveled to 54 countries, engaged in diplomacy on every continent and was awarded the National Security Medal by President [Barack] Obama for her diplomatic achievements.”
Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman signs her appointment papers to become the Deputy Secretary of State at a ceremony at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2021. [State Department photo by Mark Stewart]
Sherman Is First Woman Deputy Secretary of State
During the Obama administration, ambassador Sherman served as acting deputy secretary of state and undersecretary for political affairs, for Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, a role in which she led the U.S. negotiating team in the Iran talks. During her four years as undersecretary, she traveled to 54 countries, engaged in diplomacy on every continent, and was awarded the National Security Medal by President Obama for her diplomatic achievements. Sherman was the first woman to hold the position of undersecretary for political affairs and is the first woman to be deputy secretary.
Sherman attended Smith College and received her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Boston University and a master’s degree in social work, Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
