Home2021 Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission ...Salazar, Ken – United Mexican States – June 2021 hide Salazar, Ken – United Mexican States – June 2021 Certificate of Competency June 25, 2021 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: United Mexican States CANDIDATE: Ken Salazar Ken Salazar has served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Colorado U.S. Senator, and Colorado Attorney General. Secretary Salazar is a partner at WilmerHale, an American law firm and the founder of the firm’s Denver office. Salazar represents clients on energy, environment, natural resources and Native American matters. In 1998, Salazar was elected as Colorado Attorney General and became the first Latino ever elected to statewide office in Colorado. He was reelected as Attorney General in 2002. In 2004, Salazar was elected to the U.S. Senate for Colorado becoming the first Latino democrat to be elected to the United States Senate since 1972. During the Obama Administration, he served as Secretary of the Interior, where he had a lead role on energy and climate, and the nation’s conservation agenda. Mr. Salazar has devoted much of his career to public service. His extensive and substantive experience both at the state and federal level, coupled with his management experience and demonstrated ability to lead a large U.S. government department, makes him a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Mexican States. A native of Colorado, Salazar is a fifth-generation rancher in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Salazar has a B.S. from Colorado College and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. He also has honorary degrees from the Colorado School of Mines, The University of Massachusetts, The Colorado School of Law, the University of Denver School of Law, and Colorado College. He speaks Spanish.
