The US President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to serve as ambassador to Russia, the White House said.
Huntsman, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, served as US envoy to China in the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama, Efe reported.
The 57-year-old Huntsman governed Utah from 2005-2009 and has served five different US presidents in various capacities.
The nomination comes amid investigations by Congress and the Justice Department into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Until recently the head of the Atlantic Council, a conservative think-tank, Huntsman sits on the boards of several major corporations, including Chevron and Ford.
The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
The White House made the announcement shortly after confirming that Trump held a second, previously undisclosed meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin on July 7 during the G-20 summit in Hamburg.
