Ljubljana - The new US Ambassador to Slovenia Jamie L. Harpootlian presented her credentials to President Borut Pahor on Thursday, after the US Embassy in Ljubljana was headed by the chargé d'affaires for more than a year. Harpootlian said on the occasion that Slovenia and the US had tremendous opportunities to strengthen their ties in many ways.

"My goal is to be a bridge to work every day to open avenues for working together and strengthening our partnership to support our common vision for peace, prosperity and a healthier planet for all people," the new ambassador was quoted in a press release from the embassy.

US President Joe Biden nominated Harpootlian for the ambassador to Slovenia in July 2021, and she was officially sworn in December.

The new ambassador succeeds Lynda Blanchard, who left Slovenia in January 2021 after President Donald Trump lost the presidential election. Susan K. Falatko then took over as the charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Ljubljana.

According to the embassy, Ambassador Harpootlian has had a decades-long career as an attorney in both private practice and public service centred on federal litigation and mass tort resolution.

She has served in complex civil actions, with the Department of Justice appointing her to serve as a hearing officer on the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Previously, she served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

"Ambassador Harpootlian is a community leader and an engaged patron of charitable organisations that support the environment, the arts, historic resources, and community needs", the embassy added.

She was raised in California and South Carolina, earning a bachelor's degree in political science and art history at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia in 1981, and a law degree at Tulane University in New Orleans in 1984.

Pahor today also received the credentials of three other new ambassadors: Jordan's Leena Nayef Shaher Al-Hadid, Kazakstan's Kairat Umarov and Azerbaijan's Rovshan Nusrat oglu Sadigbayli.