Bush Wants Maine Man For Ambassador Post

Alex Leff February 15, 2008

President Bush has announced his intention to nominate Peter E. Cianchette, 2002 Republican nominee for governor of Maine, to be the new U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica.

In the next few weeks, Cianchette’s nomination will go to the U.S. Senate for confirmation, the White House said in a statement.

The appointment is meant to replace former Ambassador Mark Langdale, who left his San José post to head the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation in Dallas starting Jan. 1.

Cianchette (pronounced “chin-kett”) served as a state lawmaker from 1996-2000, representing South Portland and Cape Elizabeth in Maine’s House of Representatives, according to his Republican Party biography. In 2004, he led the Bush-Cheney campaign in Maine, where he is currently the state’s Republican national committeeman.

Son of Ival “Bud” Cianchette, one of the founders of construction firm Cianbro Corp., the nominee-to-be is a partner at CHK Capital Partners, a strategic planning firm. His business credentials also include serving as chief operations officer of business and public affairs consulting firms Pierce Atwood Consulting and The Cianchette Group.