Colleen Bell

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Colleen Bell
File:Colleen Bell State Dept portrait.png
United States Ambassador to Hungary
Assumed office
January 21, 2015
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Eleni Kounalakis
Personal details
Born Colleen Clark Bradley
(1967-01-30) January 30, 1967 (age 57)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Bradley Bell (m. 1991)
Alma mater Sweet Briar College

Colleen Bradley Bell (born January 30, 1967) is the United States Ambassador to Hungary, having taken office on January 21, 2015 following a contentious appointment process that focused on her perceived lack of foreign policy experience. She is an American television producer known for her work on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful and for her involvement in a variety of social issues. Prior to assuming the ambassadorship, Bell lived with her family in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

Bell (née Bradley) was born in 1967 in Evanston, Illinois, to Sheila, an interior designer, and Edward Bradley, a lawyer.[1][2] Bell studied economics and political science at Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia, and graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree.[2][3] Bell is fluent in English and also speaks "conversational" level Spanish.[4]

Producing career

Bell's television career began in 1991 at Bell-Phillip Television Productions, the production company for the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.[1][2][5] Bell served in various roles for the show, including associate producer,[5] script supervisor[6] and director of special projects.[7] After leaving the show in 2000, she returned several years later as special projects director, and in 2011 led a project to overhaul and update all the fashion on the show, a critical aspect of production because the plot focuses on two rival fashion houses.[7] She became a full producer in 2012.[6] As producer, Bell was named three times in Daytime Emmy Award nominations when The Bold and the Beautiful was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 2013,[8] 2014[9] and 2015.[10]

Issues advocacy, philanthropy and political involvement

Bell is active in issues advocacy and philanthropy. In 2007, she met with Senator Barbara Boxer about global warming as part of a delegation from the Leadership Council, a Los Angeles County environmental issues group.[11]

In 2010 Bell was named to President Barack Obama's Advisory Committee on the Arts, and in 2011 she was elected chairperson.[7] Obama appointed Bell to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees in 2012.[2] Additionally, she has served as a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Los Angeles Music Center and vice chairperson of the Children's Institute Inc..[12]

Bell is also active in the Democratic Party, and served as an at-large delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.[13] As a "bundler", Bell helped raise more than $2.1 million for Obama's 2012 presidential campaign.[14] In February 2012, Bell and her husband, The Bold and the Beautiful executive producer and head writer Bradley Phillip Bell, hosted a fundraiser for Obama at their home with actor Will Ferrell and his wife, Viveca Paulin.[15]

Ambassadorship

Appointment and confirmation

On November 6, 2013, President Obama nominated Bell to succeed Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis as ambassador to Hungary.[2][12][16] Bell was one of three ambassadorial nominees who, according to the Washington Post, came to "symbolize the problems with giving plum overseas diplomatic assignments to big political donors".[17] Senator John McCain questioned Bell's lack of diplomatic experience and knowledge of Hungary.[18] In an article for Politico, James Bruno, a former U.S. career foreign service officer, noted that Bell "could not answer questions about the United States' strategic interests in Hungary".[19] When asked during questioning about American interests in the nation, Bell "stumbled and stammered", replying "the security relationship and also the law enforcement and to promote business opportunities, um, increase trade, um". [20][4]

Senator Barbara Boxer supported Bell, noting her intelligence and ability to "make friends".[18] Josh Earnest, the White House Press Secretary, defended the nomination on the grounds that Bell's private sector success and issues advocacy experience would enable her to work effectively on economic and trade concerns of interest to both Hungary and the United States.[5] The Senate confirmed Bell in a 52-42 vote on December 2, 2014, and she was sworn in on December 16.[18][21]

Work as ambassador

On January 19, 2015, Bell arrived in Budapest, ending the 18-month absence of an American ambassador which had existed since Kounalakis departed in July 2013.[22] Bell presented her credentials to President János Áder of Hungary on January 21, 2015.[23]

In February 2015, Bell signed an agreement that, pending ratification by both countries' legislatures, would end dual taxation of U.S. and Hungarian citizens.[24] Speaking at an event held by the American Chamber of Commerce that month, Bell told a forum that transparency and predictability regarding Hungarian business laws and regulations are needed to attract U.S. investors to the country.[25][26]

Personal life

On October 4, 1991, Bell married Bradley Phillip Bell, the son of Lee Phillip Bell and William J. Bell, at Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Evanston, Illinois.[1] The Bells have four children[11] and live in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles .[27]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Hungary
2015–present		 Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Colleen_Bell&oldid=722863351"