New Ambassadors to Spain, Germany and Denmark With Hollywood Ties Approved by Senate Committee

On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved three of President Obama's ambassador-designates, who are all strong Obama supporters with equally strong Hollywood ties. President Obama nominated HBO executive James Costos as ambassador to Spain, one-time producer and current fundraiser Rufus Gifford as ambassador to Denmark and Los Angeles financier John Emerson as ambassador to Germany.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the three men have strong ties to Hollywood as well as to the Democratic party, and each backed the Obama campaign financially during the presidential elections. The nominations will now be sent to the chamber floor to be confirmed by the full Senate.  

Costos is known for helping HBO retain its status as a worldwide powerhouse for quality programming. In a written statement to the Committee, Costos described how his influence at HBO will translate to his role of diplomat. "My leadership had to inspire and gain the respect of employees in a large company with over 100 external business relationships in dozens of countries," Costos said. "I managed by empowerment, and developed my team to make decisions that allowed them to take ownership of their work if they succeeded or if they failed. In the end, all that we do is for the greater good of the organization and those we serve."

Costos and Giffords are also both gay, which reflects a growing acceptance of gays and lesbians in the political sphere and the increased traction of gay and lesbian issues in government. Costos is an active participant in the Human Rights Campaign, the leading gay activism group in the U.S. 

Emerson, who is fluent in German, and Giffords both hold deep family ties to Germany and Denmark. Emerson and his wife, Kimberly, both share a German heritage. "From my youth, I have had an interest in the culture and the people of Germany-although I will admit that my decision at age 12 to begin studying the German language may have had more to do with the fact that my father and grandmother would speak it when they didn't want me to know what they were discussing," Emerson said. 

Giffords shares similar familial ties to Denmark. "Through their frequent travel to Denmark, my grandparents fell in love with Copenhagen and the country, and would often regale us as children with stories of their experiences," Giffords said. "To me Denmark seemed too good to be true, a land of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales." 

Obama additionally submitted two other candidates with Hollywood connections for ambassadorships: Noah Mamet, a political consultant in Los Angeles as representative to Argentina, and Colleen Bell, a TV producer, as diplomat to Turkey.