Suzi Levine, the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein, took her oath of office, becoming the newest diplomat to be deployed overseas. While the swearing in of U.S. ambassadors rarely makes for big news, Levine’s oath of office had a small variation from the thousands of ceremonies that preceded it.
Levine brought the practice of pledging loyalty to the digital age, opting to take her oath of office with an ebook reader instead of a physical copy of the nation’s primary founding document. While her swearing-in ceremony broke with some traditions, it still upheld some of the customs for such an event. The ebook reader she swore on displayed a digital copy of the Constitution. It showed the page for the document’s 19th Amendment, which guaranteed all women the right to vote.
A very 21st century swearing in; @AmbSuzi becomes the 1st U.S. Ambassador to take the oath over an electronic device. pic.twitter.com/5E4bjIRQ2x
— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) June 2, 2014
Before entering politics, Levine had a career in the tech industry. During the ‘90s, she worked as part of the marketing team for Microsoft Windows. She then became Expedia’s president for marketing and sales. She had a second stint with Microsoft from 2009 to 2012 as the company’s director of strategic partnerships for student developers and director of communications for education.
She was sworn in at the White House on Friday during a ceremony presided by Vice President Joe Biden. Levine, who starts her new job today, will be based in Bern, Switzerland.
thx so much RT @MauraLONeill: Excited to congratulate new @AmbSuzi to #Switzerland being sworn in by @VP @whitehouse pic.twitter.com/5oeamxqAJN
— Suzi LeVine (@AmbSuzi) May 30, 2014
My oath… pic.twitter.com/UWG8XNvTXN
— Suzi LeVine (@AmbSuzi) June 1, 2014
