Hill confirmed as U.S. envoy to Iraq

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WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- Diplomacy veteran Christopher Hill has been confirmed as the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

The full Senate voted Tuesday 73-23 to confirm Hill as the head of the United State's largest embassy, the Defense Department said Wednesday in a news release. Hill succeeds Ryan Crocker.

Hill was instrumental in leading the U.S. delegation in the group talks on North Korean denuclearization. He also served as ambassador to South Korea, Poland and Macedonia, and as a special envoy to Kosovo. Hill also has served on the National Security Council.

During the confirmation process, several senators said Hill's background did not meet the rigors of the ambassadorship to Iraq.

In Iraq, Hill will serve in the embassy compound on 104 acres along the banks of the Tigris River in central Baghdad, the Pentagon said. It includes 27 office, housing and support buildings where more than 1,200 U.S. diplomats, military personnel and government officials and staff from 14 federal agencies work and live.