(JNS) U.S. President Joe Biden has officially announced the nomination of Thomas Nides to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Nides, 60, has held prominent roles in the private and public sectors.

As part of the Obama administration, Nides played a key role in the administration’s approval of an extension on loan guarantees worth billions of dollars for Israel. He also led the push against Congress’s efforts to defund the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the U.N. for Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA).

Before that, Nides worked in the financial sector.

Nides was born in 1961 to Jewish parents in Duluth, Minn. His father, Arnold Nides, was the founder of the finance company Nides Finance, as well as served as president of the Duluth Jewish Federation and Temple Israel.

Currently, Nides serves on the board of Partnership for Public Service, the International Rescue Committee, the Atlantic Council and the Urban Alliance Foundation.

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the former board chairman of the Woodrow Wilson Center by appointment of former President Barack Obama.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and is a recipient of the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award.

The nomination will now go to the Senate for confirmation.