Robert Ford Nominated As US Ambassador to Egypt

Outgoing ambassador, Anne Patterson, was accused by some secular and revolutionary groups in Egypt of backing the Muslim Brotherhood during Mohamed Morsi’s term in office.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a telegram from the US State Department on Tuesday stating that US Ambassador to Cairo, Anne Patterson, had finished her term in the job.

Ambassador David Robert has been nominated by the State Department to succeed Patterson.

Last month, Ambassador Robert Ford was tipped for the job, but his nomination was condemned by many political and revolutionary figures in Egypt.

An online campaign against Ford’s nomination accused him of inciting civil war in Syria when he served as US ambassador in Damascus.

The campaign called on the Egyptian foreign ministry to reject Ford’s nomination. In response, the ministry said it had not been informed of any nominee and it was too early to react.

Ambassador Anne Patterson was appointed as US ambassador in Cairo in June 2011. In July 2013, she was accused of being biased towards the Muslim Brotherhood by opponents of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.