Free Republic

US AMBASSADOR to Australia John Berry has married his long-term partner of 17 years in a private same-sex ceremony in Washington D.C. The 54-year-old former head of the Office of Personnel Management - which oversees the US public service - is the first openly gay US ambassador to serve in a Group of 20 nation and the highest ranking openly gay man in United States history. In a short statement, Mr Berry confirmed the nuptials, telling news.com.au, "John Berry and Curtis Yee, partners of 17 years, were formally married on Saturday August 10, at St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Washington...

An openly gay Jewish attorney has been nominated by Barack Obama as America’s new ambassador to New Zealand. David Huebner, 49, who is currently based in Shanghai, is Obama’s first gay appointment, and the third openly gay ambassador in American history. Obama’s nomination Wednesday of Huebner, who has also acted as general counsel for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, must be approved by Congress. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, Huebner will also become the non-resident ambassador to Samoa, where homosexuality is illegal. Huebner is also on a list of Jewish leaders of the homosexual...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Wednesday he planned to nominate an openly gay lawyer as the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. If confirmed by the Senate, David Huebner would become the third openly gay ambassador in U.S. history and the first pick by this administration. In a statement released from the White House, Obama said he looked forward to working with Huebner and is confident he will represent the United States well in the Pacific region.

French storm From Warsaw Business Journal Polish EU Commissioner Danuta Huebner has caused outrage in France with an interview in La Tribune where she suggested that moving production within Europe should be facilitated in order to prevent jobs moving to India or China. French European Affairs Minister Claudie Haignere said: "It is unacceptable that a commissioner ... is in favor of de-localization. We should fight it by applying strong policy." (Poland A.M.)