It’s a position that helped broker the Good Friday Agreement.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has proposed plans to eliminate at least 30 special envoy positions as part of a worldwide plan to put his own stamp on the department and satisfy President Trump’s demand for deeper budget cuts.
Among those proposed to be abolished is the role of US Special envoy to Northern Ireland.
Tillerson outlined his plans in a letter to Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In the letter, Tillerson outlines how many of the positions will be subsumed by other agencies, as well as the money that will be saved under each change.
The segment about the US Special Envoy to N.I. reads as follows:
The Personal Representative for Northern Ireland Issues position will be retired. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement has been implemented with a devolved national assembly in Belfast now in place. Legacy and future responsibilities will be assigned to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR). This will involve realigning $50,000 in support costs within the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR).
The move will require congressional approval with the democrats vowing to oppose the proposed changes.
Currently the position of Special Envoy to N.I. has not been filled by the Trump administration, nor has the position of US Ambassador to Ireland.
Brian P Burns, from Florida had been widely tipped to take up the ambassador role but in June he withdrew his name from consideration on health grounds.
Former Special Envoy to Northern Ireland George Mitchell played a key role in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Mitchell is perhaps the best known person to occupy the position.
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