The United States Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next Ambassador to South Africa.
Handbag entrepreneur and now Ambassador-designate Lana Mark who was born in East London, will now return to the country of her birth as the top US-diplomat to that country.
Marks still has to take her oath of office before becoming Ambassador at a date yet to be determined.
The 65-year old luxury handbag designer, based out of Palm Beach Florida is set to replace former Ambassador Patrick Gaspard almost three years after he vacated the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria.
Marks, who has limited political or diplomatic experience, is better known for her exotic skin handbags and her friendship with the late Princess Diana.
In her oral statement during her Senate confirmation hearing in July she stated that she became an American citizen in 1994 – the same year Nelson Mandela was elected – pointing to the miraculous transition from the brutal apartheid regime that the country had undergone, calling it a pillar of democracy.
She said at the time that if confirmed her top priority would be the safety and security of all Americans in South Africa while cultivating the already robust relationship the US enjoys with South Africa.
