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Pete Hoekstra sworn in as Netherlands ambassador

Posted at 7:37 PM, Dec 11, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-11 19:37:14-05

HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) — Former Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra is the new U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.

White House spokeswoman Vanessa Morrone says Hoekstra was sworn in Monday afternoon by Vice President Mike Pence.

Hoekstra was confirmed last month by the U.S. Senate. He previously served as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was the ranking Republican on the Committee until 2011.

First elected to Congress in 1992, Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 3. He was an executive with Michigan-based office furniture maker Herman Miller and later ran unsuccessful campaigns for Michigan governor and U.S. Senate.

President Donald Trump nominated Hoekstra for the ambassador post earlier this year.