Home2020 Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission ...Burkhalter, J. Mark – Kingdom of Norway – May 2020 hide Burkhalter, J. Mark – Kingdom of Norway – May 2020 Certificate of Competency May 22, 2020 REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4) POST: Kingdom of Norway CANDIDATE: J. Mark Burkhalter Mark Burkhalter is a Senior Advisor in the Public Policy and Regulation practice at Dentons US LLP, and plays a significant role in Dentons’ public affairs and economic development initiatives in the United Kingdom. Mr. Burkhalter represented the Atlanta suburbs of north Fulton County in the Georgia General Assembly for 18 years. First elected to the State Legislature at 31, Mr. Burkhalter played a major role in developing and helping to pass legislation focused on promoting economic development, business growth and quality of life in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area. He left office as the Speaker Emeritus, having served as Speaker of the House and the Speaker Pro Tempore, a position to which he was elected with the bipartisan support of his colleagues. Mr. Burkhalter’s decades of public service as an elected official and business leader, commitment to advancing American leadership and engagement, and broad understanding of the complexities of promoting strong economic growth, make him an excellent choice to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Norway. Parallel to his government service, Mr. Burkhalter built a successful career in real estate development. He previously served on the Boards of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and the North Fulton Community Improvement District in Alpharetta, Georgia. For almost a decade, he also served on the Development Board for the University of Georgia at Oxford, a program which offers more than 200 University of Georgia students the opportunity to travel and learn while living at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Mr. Burkhalter received his B.A. with a double major in German and Slavic Languages, and Global Studies/Political Science, at the University of Georgia. He is conversant in German and has extensive background in multiple other foreign languages.
