Diplomatic posting
July 10, 2009
Murphy served as the head of Goldman Sachs's Frankfurt office, overseeing the financial firm's operations in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the then-emerging nations of East Central Europe from 1993-97. He held a number of executive positions at Goldman Sachs and was a senior director from 2003 until his retirement in 2006.
His nomination continues a pattern of naming high-profile fundraisers and contributors to the Democrats to choice ambassadorial posts, a long-standing political tradition in the United States for the party in power.
It was reported in Germany's Der Spiegel magazine earlier this month that the German president's office had given an official nod of approval to Murphy's nomination, which had first been mooted in May. It is very rare for an ambassadorial nomination to be rejected by the host nation.
Murphy to end six-month long absence
The US has been without an ambassador to Germany for the first six months of the Obama presidency, after William R. Timken relinquished the post at the end of President George W. Bush's administration.
The White House has attributed the delay to stringent new review procedures in the filling of top posts in the Obama administration. An embarrassing tax scandal at the turn of the year led the new government to enforce even stricter checks, slowing the process down further.
Murphy must still wait until the US Senate confirms his appointment before officially taking up his new job in Berlin.
nda/AP
Editor: Nathan Witkop