29/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - US President George W. Bush has appointed Kristen Silverberg as the new United States ambassador to Brussels. She presented her credentials to the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, last week. Over the past three years Ms Silverberg was Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs, before which she was Deputy Assistant to the President and Advisor to the Chief of Staff in the White House. In 2003, she worked in Baghdad as an assistant to the US representative in Iraq, Paul Bremer. The post of US ambassador to the EU has been vacant since the start of 2008 after the US Senate refused to confirm George Bush's nomination of Boyden Gray, who held the post from 2005 to 2007. (H.B.)