State Department
State Department

United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, announced plans to create a Special Representative for the Arctic Region. These plans were announced 14 February 2014 and communicated to U.S. Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. In his statement, Secretary Kerry said, "The great challenges of the Arctic matter enormously to the United States, and they hit especially close to home for Alaska."

According to the press release from the State Department, the Special Representative will be a high-level official of substantial stature and expertise who will play a critical roll in advancing American interests in the Arctic Region as the Administration prepares for the U.S. to Chair the Arctic Council in 2015.

Kerry's letter to Senator Begich is available here.

For further information about these plans and source material for this article, see the State Department press release.