Governor Jon Huntsman

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday approved President Barack Obama's nominees for ambassadors to key allies Japan and China. The panel approved longtime Internet and biotechnology lawyer John Roos as ambassador to Japan and Republican Utah Governor Jon Huntsman -- a fluent Mandarin speaker who has been seen as a possible contender for the White House in 2012 -- to be Obama's eyes in Beijing. The voice vote set up consideration by the full Senate, expected to take place later this week before lawmakers leave for the August recess. The panel's chairman, Democratic Senator John Kerry, said he expected the nominees to ... Read Full Story

US President Barack Obama's nominee to be ambassador to China promised Thursday to bring a "hard-headed realist" approach to relations and said he felt personally invested in the fate of Taiwan. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the sometimes difficult 30-year diplomatic relationship was in "an exceptionally exciting time." "But I also am a hard-headed realist about what it's going to take to manage this relationship or being part of that team in circumnavigating the challenges ahead," said Huntsman, 49, who is expected to win easy confirmation. The governor, who had been ... Read Full Story

Great analysis on Jon Huntsman’s possible future plans for taking the White House… Over the weekend, President Obama named Utah Governor Jon Huntsman as the next Ambassador to China, a masterstroke of political strategy. Huntsman may be the most important person you’ve never heard of. He’s a moderate Republican governor in one of the most conservative Republican states, where, until the time of his appointment, he enjoyed approval ratings above 80%. A few weeks back, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe unintentionally elevated Huntsman on the national stage by suggesting that he was one of the few Republican politicians that appeared formidable in 2012 . ... Read Full Story

Even as Michael Steele appears to be increasingly the verge of expulsion from his postion as RNC chairman by the Kool -Aid drinker element that now controls the Republican Party - in large part because of Steele's moderate statements on abortion and gay rights - there are a few signs that some within the GOP realize that staying the course as a de facto religious party does not bode well for the party's long term future. A case in point is Utah's GOP governor, Jon Huntsman Jr., who despite his Mormon faith appears to have seen the light and be endeavoring to veer the ... Read Full Story

NAME — Jon Huntsman Jr. AGE-BIRTH DATE — 49; March 26, 1960. EDUCATION — Attended University of Utah; bachelor's degree in international politics from the University of Pennsylvania. EXPERIENCE — Nominated by President Barack Obama on Saturday to be ambassador to China; elected to a second term as governor in November 2008; national co-chairman of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign; former chairman and chief executive of Huntsman Family Holdings Co.; former president of Huntsman Cancer Foundation; deputy U.S. trade ambassador, 2001-2003; ambassador to Singapore, 1992-93; deputy assistant commerce secretary, Trade Development Bureau, 1989-90; deputy commerce secretary for East Asia and the Pacific; White House ... Read Full Story