Kentucky businessman Matthew Barzun will be the next U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, CBS News is reporting.The appointment has long been expected—Barzun has been a key fundraiser in President Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns, serving as chair of Obama's national finance committee in the most recent election.CBS News notes: One measure of Barzun's influence can be gauged by his presence in a recent campaign ad by Mitch McConnell, which targets prospective candidate Ashley Judd and a handful of other Kentucky Democrats.(Here's that ad.)Barzun, a former CNET executive, served as U.S. ambassador to Sweden from 2009 to 2011.As CBS News noted, he was briefly floated as a potential Democratic challenger for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's seat in 2014; this report, if correct, would likely silence that speculation.Barzun's nameemerged for the ambassadorship soon after the 2012 election; Vogue Editor Anna Wintour was also considered a possibility. Wintour recently accepted an additional position with Vogue's parent, Conde Nast.
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