US President Donald Trump will appoint luxury handbag designer Lana Marks as the new ambassador to South Africa.
A statement from the Whitehouse read:
Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Lana J. Marks of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to South Africa.
Ms. Marks is the founder and CEO of Lana Marks Ltd., Inc., a luxury fashion accessories producer. She served on the Women’s Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Women’s International Forum for more than a decade. Ms. Marks attended the University of the Witwatersrand and the Institute of Personnel Management in Johannesburg, South Africa. She speaks Afrikaans and Xhosa.
Trump caused a stir back in August when he asked his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to study the seizure and expropriation of land in South Africa, along with the killing of farmers.
Trump posted a note on Twitter, alleging the South African government was “seizing land from white farmers”.
I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2018
The South African government called Trump’s tweet “misinformed”.
Reuters reported that the US has not had an ambassador in South Africa since Patrick Gaspard vacated his post in December 2016.
The website for her premium handbag firm, Lana Marks, offers handbags selling for as much as $20,000 and says they have become favourites for celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Kate Winslet and Madonna, Reuters said.
Read: Trump misleads again with claim of South Africa farm murders
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