By John Mack Freeman
On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry appointed Randy Berry as the US State Department’s first LGBT envoy. Berry had previously served as Consul General in Amsterdam with prior postings in Bangladesh, Egypt, South Africa, and Uganda. Secretary Kerry had the following to say (via PinkNews):
“Randy’s a leader, he’s a motivator. But most importantly for this effort, he’s got vision.
“Wherever he’s served — from Nepal to New Zealand, from Uganda to Bangladesh, from Egypt to South Africa, and most recently as consul general in Amsterdam — Randy has excelled.
“He’s a voice of clarity and conviction on human rights. And I’m confident that Randy’s leadership as our new special envoy will significantly advance efforts underway to move towards a world free from violence and discrimination against LGBT persons.”
