Jamie Harpootlian of Columbia gets U.S. Senate nod to be ambassador to Slovenia

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Jamie Lindler Harpootlian of Columbia to be ambassador to Slovenia.

The confirmation notice — “ confirmed by voice vote” — was tweeted out at 2:53 a.m. Saturday by the Senate Cloakroom with a host of other late night and early morning confirmations.

“Confirmed by voice vote.... Jamie L. Harpootlian to be Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Slovenia,” the tweet said.

Harpootlian, 62, a Columbia attorney, was nominated in July for the post by President Biden.

“I am deeply honored and grateful for the confidence that President Biden has placed in me. I also want to thank Sen. Lindsey Graham for his support in the confirmation process. I look forward to representing the United States of America in Slovenia, a beautiful and vibrant democracy,” Harpootlian said in a statement emailed to The State Saturday morning.

Slovenia, a member of NATO and the European Union, has a population of about 2.1 million. It borders Austria, Hungary, Croatia and northeastern Italy, as well as the Adriatic Sea.

“It is a small country, but it’s right in the middle of everything,” said Bob Coble, a Columbia attorney and former capital city mayor for 20 years.

“In my experience as mayor, having a European ambassador is a big deal for economic development because when we travel to Europe, being able to say you are going to see the ambassador is very important. And in my experience as chairman of the Columbia World Affairs Council, having an ambassador is very important,” Coble said.

“Slovenia is one country over from the Ukraine,” said Coble. “This is an important position in the tumultuous times that we live in.”

In recent weeks, tensions have increased in Europe because Russia is said to be massing tens of thousands of troops along the Ukrainian-Russian border.

She is the first South Carolina ambassador nominee by President Biden confirmed by the Senate.

She still must be officially sworn in.

Harpootlian is married to state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland.

This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 9:41 AM.