WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Saturday confirmed veteran diplomat Denise Campbell Bauer as the country’s next ambassador to France.

Bauer, 57, served as the US ambassador to Belgium between 2013 and 2017 and is also known as a nonprofit leader and advocate for women in politics.

Bauer’s confirmation comes as Washington seeks to mend fences with Paris after a bitter row over a scrapped submarine deal.

Nominated by President Joe Biden in July, Bauer was confirmed by the Senate during a marathon series of votes in the early hours of Saturday.

When announcing Bauer’s nomination earlier this summer, the White House praised her “collaborative leadership style, high ethics standards, and crisis management skills.” A former journalist, Bauer took an active part in Barack Obama’s two presidential campaigns, and in 2019 became head of the “Women for Biden” advocacy group in the runup to the 2020 election. Bauer, who speaks fluent French, will also be the US ambassador to Monaco.