Barack Obama, the US president, has picked a Citigroup executive as ambassador to Britain, a theology professor to represent the US at the Vatican and a former member of the Sept. 11, 2001 Commission as envoy to India.

The White House has announced a raft of top diplomats in capitals from Tokyo to Paris. The group fills many of the highest profile jobs in the foreign service and will be crucial representatives of Mr Obama and his State Department with US allies.

“I am grateful that these distinguished Americans have agreed to help represent the United States and strengthen our partnerships abroad at this critical time for our nation and the world,” Mr Obama said in a statement. “I am confident they will advance American diplomacy as we work to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

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For the London appointment, Mr Obama turned to Louis Susman, a retired vice chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking. A former Salomon Brothers employee, he won a commission appointment from President Ronald Reagan and was a director for the St. Louis Cardinals for more than a decade.

The White House also announced it plans to nominate Miguel H. Diaz, an associate professor of theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, for the top job at the Vatican.

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