Senate panel approves nine Obama ambassador nominees

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday unanimously approved nine of President Obama's nominees for ambassadorships, setting up their possible approval by the full Senate before the August recess.

The posts being filled are in Ghana, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Serbia, the Marshall Islands and Oman.

The nominee to be ambassador to Harare, Bruce Wharton, laid out a path forward for the lifting of the sanctions against Robert Mugabe's regime at a hearing last week.

The full list is below: 

The Honorable Gene Allan Cretz, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana

Ms. Deborah Ruth Malac, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia

Mr. David Bruce Wharton, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe

Mr. Alexander Mark Laskaris, of Maryland, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea

The Honorable Marcie B. Ries, of the District of Columbia, to be an Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria

Mr. John M. Koenig, of Washington, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus

The Honorable Michael David Kirby, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia

Mr. Thomas Hart Armbruster, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Ms. Greta Christine Holtz, of Maryland, to be Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman