Obama to name Utah gov. envoy to China

[May 16, 2009]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Republican governor whose name has come up as a potential challenger to President Barack Obama in 2012 intends go to work for the president as ambassador to China, a source close to the governor said.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese from his days as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan, has accepted the appointment, said the source, who would speak only on condition of anonymity ahead of a White House announcement expected Saturday.

Huntsman, 49, is a popular, two-term governor who served in both Bush administrations and has made a name for himself advocating a moderate agenda in one of the nation's most conservative states.

He made headlines recently for encouraging the Republican Party to swing in a more moderate direction if it wanted to bounce back from the 2008 elections, angering some conservatives.

Obama's 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, said Huntsman is a Republican who "seems to understand the party has to adjust - not stubbornly believe that everything is OK and it is the country that has to change."

Huntsman's positions on the environment and other issues have led some to consider him a potential contender for president in 2012.

He signed an initiative that would set a regional cap-and-trade effort to reduce global warming. In a 2006 speech at Shanghai Normal University, Huntsman spoke of the need for China and the U.S. to work together on environmental issues.

"The United States and China must be good examples and stewards of the Earth. We must match economic progress with environmental stewardship. The effects of industrialization are felt worldwide," Huntsman said then.

Throughout his tenure as governor, Huntsman's background as a diplomat has been evident. He preferred to win over opponents in private meetings rather than using his bully pulpit to give rousing speeches.

One of his most significant achievements was loosening the state's restrictive liquor laws over the objections of many in heavily Mormon Utah in an effort to make the state more appealing for visitors. It was a feat many here didn't think would be possible in Huntsman's lifetime.

However, Huntsman has drawn the most attention for stating he favors civil unions for gay couples even though he backed a state constitutional amendment passed in 2004 that prohibited same-sex marriage.

Huntsman's comments on civil unions drew the ire of conservatives in Utah and elsewhere.

Officials in Michigan last month canceled a GOP county fundraiser where Huntsman was to speak; they said he had abandoned important party principles.

Huntsman's career began as a staff assistant in the Ronald Reagan administration and he also served as ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and as a deputy U.S. trade representative and U.S. trade ambassador under President George W. Bush.

Utah's only Democratic member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, said he was pleased with the appointment. "It's a great bipartisan appointment by the president," he said.

Before becoming governor in 2005, Huntsman made millions serving as chairman and CEO of his family chemical company.

If confirmed by the Senate, Huntsman will succeed Clark Randt as U.S. ambassador to China.

Randt, a classmate of former President George W. Bush at Yale University, served as Washington's top envoy to Beijing from July 2001 until January, making him the longest-serving U.S. ambassador to China since the two nations established diplomatic ties.

Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert would become governor until a special election in 2010.

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Fouhy reported from New York. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

[Associated Press; By BETH FOUHY and BROCK VERGAKIS]

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