General Eric Wendt confirmed as US ambassador to Albania

With 51 votes for and 47 against him, he has received final approval for his diplomatic task.

The vote at the plenary session comes after earlier approval of the Senate's respective commission, where his candidacy received the support of most members.

Earlier, his candidacy had received support from the US Senate's Committee for Foreign Relations by 19-3, paving the way for final approval at the Senate's plenary session.

By this vote, the confirmation procedure ends and is expected to take office in the coming days, according to deadlines set by the US administration.

Wendt has a long career of over three decades in the military and international security facilities.

He is a retired United States Army officer with over 34 years of service.

He has served as commander of the NATO Special Operations Command, as well as held key positions in the Middle East and the Pacific region.

During his career, Wendt was the US Security Co-ordinator for the Israeli-Palestinian Authority in 20172019, as well as chief of staff at the US Pacific Command.

Wendt graduated from the University of California in Santa Barbara and completed postgraduate studies in the field of national security at the Passive School.