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Adm. Robert Papp named to top Arctic post
Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
The Obama administration has named a former U.S. Coast Guard commandant, retired Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., as the State Department’s “special representative for the Arctic.”
Secretary of State John Kerry announced Papp in a July 16 press statement. Kerry also named former Alaska Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer a “special adviser on Arctic science and policy.” Ulmer chairs the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.
Papp retired from the Coast Guard in May.
Kerry said Papp soon would travel to Alaska to consult with policymakers “on the front lines of America’s Arctic state.”
“We have a great deal of work to do, and that work starts right away,” Kerry said. “The Arctic region is the last global frontier and a region with enormous and growing geostrategic, economic, climate, environment, and national security implications for the United States and the world. With the team we’re building at the State Department, we will make sure that the United States is in the strongest possible position to meet these challenges and seize these opportunities.”
Favorable reaction Kerry’s announcement drew bipartisan praise from Alaska elected officials. The state’s U.S. senators have pushed the federal government to make the Arctic a higher priority.
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said he had pushed for an “Arctic ambassador” since entering the Senate in 2009.
“I’ve worked with Admiral Papp for years, traveled to America’s Arctic with him and know he will be effective in standing up for American interests in this increasingly important part of the world,” Begich said.
In visiting Alaska, Begich said, Papp can “see firsthand the impacts, opportunities and challenges of climate change in the Arctic.”
“This appointment acknowledges we must pay special attention to the dramatic changes under way in the Arctic,” Begich added. “These changes mean both opportunities for increased commerce and resource development yet special challenges to protect the region and the people who depend on it for their way of life.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, likewise applauded Papp’s appointment.
“Admiral Papp’s knowledge base of the Arctic is as vast as the region itself,” she said.
“Admiral Papp is uniquely qualified and well-suited for this post,” said Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican. “His service as commandant of the Coast Guard and the time he invested in Alaska, America’s gateway to the Arctic, provide him with a strong grasp of the realities facing the modern Arctic, as well as the opportunities before us.”
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