Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte, who played a visible role in the American attempt to gain U.N. backing for the Iraq war, is the first U.S. ambassador to Iraq since the first Gulf War in 1991.

"John Negroponte is a man of enormous experience and skill. That's why I'm comfortable in asking him to serve in this very difficult assignment," President Bush told reporters as he announced his choice on April 19, 2004.

Negroponte took over from civilian administrator Paul Bremer on June 28 as the top U.S. official in Iraq after the handover of sovereignty. But as opposed to Bremer, Negroponte's role is to represent the United States, not run Iraq.

The Bush administration's desire to increase the U.N. role in Iraq after that handover made the 63-year-old Negroponte an obvious choice for the ambassadorship. Mr. Bush said that during his time at the United Nation, Negroponte has done a "really good job of speaking for the United States to the world about our intentions to spread freedom and peace."

Referring to his new post, Negroponte said in a statement, "Collaboration with the international community, especially the United Nations, will be a very important part of this endeavor."

In a June 17 NewsHour interview, Negroponte said he was optimistic that it was getting easier for the United States to gain U.N. involvement.

"Everybody has a stake in success in Iraq, and I think that that is the kind of spirit that we see prevailing now. There still have been some tough negotiations and tough discussions, but it's certainly been easier to get resolutions on Iraq passed in recent months than it was previously," Negroponte said.

The announcement of Mr. Bush's choice for the key position received criticism from some members of the Arab world, while others praised the decision.

Clovis Maksoud, a former Arab League ambassador to the United Nations, told Reuters the appointment was a White House ploy to leave the impression that the handover had some legitimacy because of Negroponte's U.N. connection.

"There is a projected symbolism that the U.N. is associated with the handover," Maksoud said, adding that the U.S. troop presence would help Negroponte act as much like a viceroy as an ambassador.

Many U.N. colleagues said Negroponte had the right kind of experience to handle the assignment.

"He knows the problem right from the beginning here at the United Nations and so I think it's a good choice," Germany's U.N. ambassador, Gunter Pleauger, told the Associated Press.

Danielle Pletka, a defense scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told the AP, "He's an experienced diplomat and we need an experienced diplomat in Iraq."

"Given that we seem to be putting more of our eggs in the U.N. basket, he is the man with the most experience for that," she added.

While at the United Nations, Negroponte defended U.S. positions that were often unpopular with other Security Council members.

He vetoed numerous resolutions relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and vowed in July 2002 to stop U.S. participation in U.N. peacekeeping missions if the International Criminal Court did not exempt Americans from prosecution.

Negroponte also played an active role in U.S. diplomacy leading up to the Iraq war. In 2002, he helped craft Security Council Resolution 1441 that gave Baghdad one more chance to disarm. That resolution passed unanimously, but the White House failed to get a second resolution giving a U.N. blessing to last year's U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Before serving as U.N. ambassador, Negroponte was also a member of the Foreign Service in Vietnam, Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines. He left the government in 1997 to join publisher McGraw-Hill as executive vice president for global markets, but returned in 2001 to take the U.N. ambassador post.

His confirmation as U.N. ambassador was delayed for six months in 2001 as some senators believed he covered up human rights abuses by the U.S.-backed Honduran government while he was the ambassador from 1981-85. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the confirmation process moved swiftly, and Negroponte was sworn in as U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations on Sept. 18.

Negroponte entered the Foreign Service in 1960 and went to Vietnam in 1964. He advised Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during the Paris peace talks in 1968-69.

Negroponte also served as deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs from 1987-89, as ambassador to Mexico from 1989-93, and as ambassador to the Philippines from 1993-96.

Negroponte and his wife Diana Villiers Negroponte have five children, all adopted from Honduras.

-- Compiled by Karyn Schwartz for the Online NewsHour