President Biden Appoints Cameroonian-American as US Assistant Secretary of Defense

By Christopher Ambe

 President Joe Biden on May 13 announced his nomination of Cameroonian-American Dr. Laura D.Taylor-Kale as US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.

Dr. Laura D.Taylor-Kale

  Laura Taylor-Kale, who is the daughter of Architect Julius Kale and the granddaughter of the late Paul Monyongo mo'Kale, Speaker of the West Cameroon House of Assembly and President of the House of Chiefs, is highly expected to secure the US Senate confirmation to the coveted position.

Reacting to Laura Taylor-Kale’s nomination, emeritus Professor Ndiva Kofele Kale noted, “As the head of the Kale family, I can assure you that we're immensely proud of Laura's appointment as Assistant Secretary of Defense. It is an appointment that expresses the high confidence and trust she enjoys with President Biden. This office is among the select posts in the US Government that require Senate confirmation.”

According to Professor Kofele Kale, “Laura’s achievements are a reflection of her illustrious family background as well as her impressive academic pedigree!

“I'm very confident that she'll secure Senate confirmation to this position of trust and confidence.”

Laura’s father, Architect Julius Kale, is the youngest brother of emeritus Professor Ndiva Kofele Kale,who is a member of Cameroon’s opposition Party,the Social Democratic Front(SDF).   

It should be noted that emeritus Professor Ndiva Kofele Kale is a very resourceful member of Cameroon’s opposition Party,the Social Democratic Front(SDF) and Lead Counsel  for imprisoned  Cameroon’s ex-Minister of State Marafa Hamidou Yaya.

Kofele Kale has been challenging what he calls the “arbitrary detention” of his client in various United Nations treaty/based bodies.

PROFILE OF DR. LAURA TAYLOR-KALE

According to the official website of THE WHITE HOUSE: “Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale She serves as the Fellow for Innovation and Economic Competitiveness at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where she researches and writes about strategic innovation, industrial policy, and the changing nature of work, and contributes to CFR’s Renewing America Initiative.

“ From 2017-2018, she was an International Affairs Fellow at CFR and the Deputy Director of CFR’s independent task force on the future of the U.S. workforce.  From 2014-2017, Taylor-Kale served in the Obama-Biden Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing in the International Trade Administration, and as the Senior Advisor for Policy and Operations at the U.S. Development Finance Corporation. Taylor-Kale joined the Obama-Biden Administration from the World Bank, where she held positions as an advisor to the U.S. Executive Director on the boards of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation and as an advisor to the Bank Group’s Vice President for sustainable development and climate change.

“ From 2003-2012, Taylor-Kale was a career State Department Foreign Service Officer, with diplomatic postings in Afghanistan, India, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

“Taylor-Kale holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and anthropology from Smith College, a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, a Master of Business Administration from the New York University’s Stern School of Business, and has earned a Ph.D. in management science and engineering with a specialization in Organizations, Technology, and Entrepreneurship from Stanford University’s School of Engineering. Taylor-Kale is a native Midwesterner and resides in Washington, DC.”

President Biden’s other May 13, 2022 nominees pending Senate  confirmation are: David Pressman, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Hungary;Heide B. Fulton, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay;Calvin Smyre, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas;Yohannes Abraham, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary;Stacy Dean, Nominee for Under Secretary for Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture;Alexis Taylor, Nominee for Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture;Rubydee Calvert, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Andrew G. Biggs, Nominee for Member of the Social Security Advisory Board