David Huebner

David Huebner
United States Ambassador to New Zealand
Incumbent
Assumed office November 20, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	William McCormick
Personal details
Born	1960 Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Duane McWaine
Profession	Lawyer Legal academic

David Huebner (born 1960) is the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.^[1] He previously was an American lawyer based in Shanghai, where he specialized in international arbitration and mediation for the Los Angeles-based law firm, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.^[2][3] He is licensed as an attorney in both California and New York, and in the District of Columbia, and as a solicitor in England and Wales.^[4]

Early life

Huebner was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, a small coal mining town in Schuylkill County.^[5][6] He attended Mahanoy Area High School and received his higher education at Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.^[4][5] While earning his Juris Doctor at Yale Law School, Huebner served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation and was a member of the Yale AIDS Law Project, a student group that assisted with the publication of AIDS and the Law.^[4][7][8] From 1984 to 1985, Huebner lived in Tokyo, having been awarded a Henry Luce Fellowship to serve as an aide to Koji Kakizawa, a member of Japan's House of Representatives.^[6][9][10]

Career

Huebner, accompanied by his partner Duane McWaine, sworn in as ambassador by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in 2009.

In 1995, Huebner joined the international law firm, Coudert Brothers. He served as its chairman and chief executive officer from 2003 until the firm's dissolution in 2005.^[4][11] In April 2005, Huebner was appointed to the California Law Revision Commission by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.^[11] Huebner also served as president of the Los Angeles Quality & Productivity Commission and taught courses at the University of Southern California Law School.^[4] In September 2005, he joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, and in May 2007, became the firm's regional managing partner in China.^[12][13]

Huebner serves as general counsel to LGBT rights organization, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).^[14][15]

Ambassadorship

In October 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Huebner as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, a post held by William McCormick until January 2009.^[2][4] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 20, 2009.^[1] Huebner, a Democrat, is the first openly gay ambassador in the Obama administration, and the third openly gay ambassador in U.S. history.^[11][15][16] During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Huebner introduced his partner of 20 years, Duane McWaine, a doctor from Los Angeles.^[17][18]

See also

	California portal
	LGBT portal
	Pennsylvania portal

• Embassy of the United States in Wellington
• Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration
• New Zealand – United States relations
• Samoa – United States relations

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Nominations Confirmed (Civilian)". United States Senate. (senate.gov). November 20, 2009. http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/nom_confc.htm. Retrieved November 21, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Trevett, Claire (October 8, 2009). "Gay lawyer set to be next US ambassador to NZ". The New Zealand Herald (nzherald.co.nz). http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10602029. Retrieved October 8, 2009. 
3. ^ Johnston, Nicholas (October 7, 2009). "Obama Nominates Openly Gay Lawyer to Be New Zealand Ambassador". Bloomberg News (bloomberg.com). http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=aeB99RMAtJHc. Retrieved October 8, 2009. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". Office of the Press Secretary. (whitehouse.gov). October 7, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Administration-Posts-10/7/09/. Retrieved October 8, 2009. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Mahanoy City native nominated for ambassadorship". Republican & Herald (republicanherald.com). October 9, 2009. http://www.republicanherald.com/news/mahanoy_city_native_nominated_for_ambassadorship. Retrieved October 13, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ ^{a b} Lerner, Marcy (December 2004). View from the Top: Law Firm Leaders. Vault Career Library. New York City: Vault Inc.. pp. 34. ISBN 978-1581312980. http://books.google.com/books?id=QlxhVOT1IJcC&pg=PA34&dq=%22David+Huebner%22&ei=5oDRSuT4DqCMygTNiqWQDg&client=firefox-a#v=onepage&q=%22David%20Huebner%22&f=false. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
7. ^ Judson, Bruce (July 1, 2008). "Remarks at the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Dinner of the Yale Journal on Regulation". Yale Journal on Regulation (FindArticles) (Summer 2008). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7780/is_200807/ai_n32287812/pg_2/. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
8. ^ Burris, Scott (March 31, 1993). AIDS Law Today: A New Guide for the Public (2 ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. xix. ISBN 978-0300055122. http://books.google.com/books?id=NR7NmfvbXIEC&pg=PR19&dq=%22David+Huebner%22&lr=&ei=uSrUSoXQBqSCywSe2fCXDg&client=firefox-a#v=onepage&q=%22David%20Huebner%22&f=false. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
9. ^ Gardner, Marilyn (August 20, 2007). "The challenge of working abroad". The Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com). http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0820/p13s04-wmgn.html?page=2. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
10. ^ "David Huebner - Lecturer in Law". University of Southern California Law School. (law.usc.edu). http://law.usc.edu/contact/contactInfo.cfm?detailID=830. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
11. ^ ^{a b c} "Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Appointments 04/13/2005". Office of the Governor. (governor.ca.gov). April 13, 2005. http://governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_htmldisplay.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0020109464.1255421337@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgadeiefghfikcfngcfkmdffidfnf.0&sCatTitle=Press+Release&sFilePath=/govsite/press_release/2005_04/20050413_GAAS13305_Appointments.html&sTitle=Governor+Schwarzenegger+Announces+Appointments+04%2F13%2F2005&iOID=65239. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
12. ^ Binham, Caroline (March 13, 2007). "Sheppard Mullin picks Shanghai for first overseas office". The Lawyer (thelawyer.com). http://www.thelawyer.com/sheppard-mullin-picks-shanghai-for-first-overseas-office/124711.article. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
13. ^ "Coudert's demise shaping up as Sheppard Mullin's gain". Los Angeles Business Journal (goliath.ecnext.com). September 12, 2005. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4773596/Coudert-s-demise-shaping-up.html. Retrieved October 13, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Weisman, Jonathan (October 7, 2009). "Gay-Rights Advocate Picked to Be Ambassador to New Zealand". The Wall Street Journal (blogs.wsj.com). http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/10/07/gay-rights-advocate-picked-to-be-ambassador-to-new-zealand/. Retrieved October 8, 2009. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Elliott, Philip (October 7, 2009). "Obama picks openly gay lawyer for ambassadorship". Associated Press (news.yahoo.com). http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091008/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_gay_ambassador. Retrieved October 8, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
16. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (October 7, 2009). "Obama to Name Openly Gay Ambassador". The New York Times (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com). http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/obama-to-name-openly-gay-ambassador/. Retrieved October 8, 2009. 
17. ^ "US envoy sees closer ties with NZealand". Agence France-Presse (news.asiaone.com). November 6, 2009. http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20091106-178173.html. Retrieved November 21, 2009. 
18. ^ Huebner, David (November 5, 2009). "Written Statement of David Huebner: United States Ambassador-Designate to New Zealand and Samoa" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. (foreign.senate.gov). http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2009/HuebnerTestimony091105p.pdf. Retrieved November 22, 2009. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• David Huebner's biography, by the U.S. State Department
• David Huebner's blog, via newzealand.usembassy.gov
• Embassy of the United States - New Zealand official website
• Embassy of the United States - Samoa official website
• Written Statement of David Huebner, testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by William McCormick	United States Ambassador to New Zealand Also accredited to Samoa 2009–	Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Huebner, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1960
Place of birth	Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death