US ambassadorial change - Trump recalls Julie Chung

 As a broad step to reorganize American diplomatic representation in accordance with President Donald Trump's "America First" policy, the Trump administration has taken steps to immediately recall nearly 30 senior ambassadorial officials and professional diplomats serving around the world, including the American Ambassador to Sri Lanka.

State Department sources indicate that officials in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their terms of service as heads of mission would end in January. Many of these officials, appointed under the Biden administration, remained in their positions even after political appointments were removed during Trump's second term, and official notification of their departure was issued from Washington last Wednesday.

Officials point out that while ambassadors typically serve for three or four years, they serve at the pleasure of the President, emphasizing that those recalled will not lose their foreign service status. Instead, they are required to report to Washington for reassignment.
Julie Chung, who served in Sri Lanka, began her term in February 2022, and this recall has occurred even though her term was nearing completion of 4 years.

The State Department has described this move as a normal process, stating that ambassadors are the President's personal representatives abroad, and has refused to confirm the exact number or identity of the officials concerned.

The African region has been most affected by these recalls, with ambassadors from 13 countries including Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda being recalled. Additionally, six countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Fiji, Laos, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and European countries such as Armenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovakia, are also scheduled to have their ambassadors replaced.

Ambassadors from countries such as Algeria and Egypt in the Middle East, Guatemala and Suriname in the Western Hemisphere, and Nepal and Sri Lanka in the South Asian region are also included in this list, among whom is the American Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Ms. Julie Chung, who was appointed during the Biden administration and was serving in Colombo.