Rufus Gifford

Rufus Gifford
United States Ambassador to Denmark
Assumed office
September 13, 2013
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Laurie Fulton
Personal details
Born (1974-08-05) August 5, 1974
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Stephen DeVincent (m. 2015)
Parents Charles K. Gifford
Anne Dewing
Alma mater Brown University

John Rufus Gifford (born August 5, 1974) is an American diplomat. He is serving as the 60th United States Ambassador to Denmark, and was the Finance Director for Barack Obama's presidential re-election campaign in 2012.[1] On August 1, 2013, Gifford's nomination from President Obama to be the next United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark was confirmed by the United States Senate.[2] He was sworn into the role on August 15, 2013, and presented his credentials to the Queen of Denmark on September 13, 2013.[1]

Biography

Gifford is a native of Massachusetts, and he received his B.A. from Brown University in Rhode Island.[1]

Gifford spent a few years in Hollywood working on family movies such as Dr. Dolittle 2 and Garfield, before moving on to politics.[3] Prior to his work as an ambassador, Gifford served in various financial management capacities for Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama and John Kerry in their respective presidential campaigns.[4] From 1998 to 2004, Gifford was a creative executive in Los Angeles for Davis Entertainment.[1]

Gifford is openly gay, and commentators from GQ, Huffington Post and L.A. Weekly referred to him as Barack Obama's informal "ambassador to the gay community."[5][6] He is a Federal Club Member of the Human Rights Campaign and a Partner in Conservation for the World Wildlife Fund.

Gifford has been an integral part of bringing the American art form of Long Form Improvisation to Denmark. In September 2016 he was in the opening show at the first improv theatre in Denmark, Improv Comedy Copenhagen and said,“No matter what you are doing, you always have to allow time to laugh, smile and have fun. And creating that balance is incredibly important.”

Personal life

Gifford married his husband, Dr. Stephen DeVincent, on October 10, 2015 in a ceremony at Copenhagen City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark.[7] Gifford participated in a DR-produced documentary about his life as an ambassador in 2014[3] and again in 2015,[8] winning the Big Character award at the 2015 TV-Prisen award-show.[9] [10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ambassador Rufus Gifford". Embassy of the United States, Copenhagen. US State Department. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "PN561 — John Rufus Gifford — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "VIDEO: US Ambassador shows off Danish 'skills'". thelocal.dk. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Rufus Gifford: The Man Behind Obama's Historic Fundraising Machine". Huffington Post. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  5. ↑ McDonald, Patrick Range (30 Jan 2008). "Obama's Gay Gold Mine". LA Weekly. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Cogan, Marin (11 May 2012). "The Most (And Least) Powerful People in Politics This Week". GQ. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  7. ↑ Brydum, Sunnivie (10 October 2015). "U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Marries Dr. Stephen DeVincent". Advocate. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Jeg er Ambassadøren fra Amerika". Facebook. U.S. Embassy Denmark. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Ladingkær, Lars. "Winners of the 2015 TV-Prisen Awards" (in Danish). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "TVPRISENS VINDERE 2015" (in Danish). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Obitsø, Ole. "Her er vinderne af tv-priserne 2015" (in Danish). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Laurie Fulton		 United States Ambassador to Denmark
2013–present 		Incumbent
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