George James Tsunis (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ''Γεώργιος Δημητρίου Τσούνης'') (born December 26, 1967) is an American lawyer and businessman who is the current

United States Ambassador to Greece This is a list of United States ambassadors to Greece. List of ambassadors List of ambassadors from the United States to Greece. ;1868–1899: * Charles Keating Tuckerman (Minister 1868–71) *John M. Francis (Minister 1871–73) * John M. Read, ...

. He was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve in the role on October 8, 2021, confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

on March 10, 2022, and began serving on May 10, 2022. He was previously a nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Norway by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, although his nomination ultimately failed.

Biography

Tsunis was born 1967 in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and is the son of first-generation immigrants from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, James and Eleni Tsunis. He graduated from Commack High School in

Commack, New York Commack ( ) is a hamlet and census designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. The CDP's population was 36,124 at the 201 ...

in 1985. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in classic studies at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1989, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

in 1992. Tsunis was raised in the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

faith. On March 15, 2021, he was appointed co-vice chairman of the Greek Orthodox America Archdiocese’s National Coordinating Committee. Also, he's been awarded the Saint Paul’s Medal, the Greek Orthodox Church of America’s highest recognition for a layperson. Tsunis speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

Career

As a practicing attorney, Tsunis was a partner at the law firm Rivkin Radler LLP. He married Greek-American Olga J. Antzoulis in November 2004 and had his first child, James in 2007. They live in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island, with their three children. He has two sisters.

Nomination as U.S. ambassador to Norway

Tsunis was nominated as Ambassador to Norway on September 10, 2013. His nomination was part of a backlog of nominees for ambassador positions across the world. Norway had never been without a US ambassador for as long. Tsunis' nomination hearing generated controversy, both in Norway and in the USA, due to his confession of never having been to Norway, and his apparent ignorance of Norwegian political issues. According to some sources, the U.S. Embassy apologized for some statements to the Norwegian government and other involved parties in Norway. In statements to the press in December 2014, Tsunis indicated that he was no longer seeking the nomination as ambassador to Norway.

U.S. ambassador to Greece

Tsunis was nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Greece on October 8, 2021, by President Biden. Hearings were held before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

on January 12, 2022. On March 8, 2022, the committee reported his nomination favorably to the Senate floor. Tsunis was officially confirmed by the entire Senate on March 10, 2022, by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. Greek President

Katerina Sakellaropoulou Katerina Sakellaropoulou ( el, Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου, Latn, el, Katerína Sakellaropoúlou, ; born 30 May 1956) is a Greek judge who has been the president of Greece since 13 March 2020. She was elected by the Hellenic ...

, accepted his credentials on May 10, 2022 in

Presidential Mansion, Athens The Presidential Mansion ( el, Προεδρικό Μέγαρο , translit=Proedrikό Mégaro) in Athens, Greece, is the official residence of the President of the Hellenic Republic. It served previously as the Royal Palace (often known as the New ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsunis, George James 1967 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American lawyers Ambassadors of the United States to Greece American people of Greek descent Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States New York University alumni St. John's University (New York City) alumni