Richard Grenell, U.S. ambassador to Germany, has been tapped to lead a new White House global initiative to encourage the legalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it remains a crime to be gay.
Grenell, 52, is the most prominent openly gay member of the Trump administration and lives in Berlin with his partner Matt Lashley. His new role, reported by NBC, was revealed before a Berlin meeting Tuesday between U.S. embassy officials and LGBT activists from throughout the continent.
The initiative is a collaboration between international organizations and Western allies, ranging from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations to European governments and the U.S. Department of State.
It is a response to the hanging of a 32-year-old gay man last month, reported by Iranian state-controlled media. Grenell, seen by officials within Trump’s inner circle a principal U.S. voice in Europe, condemned the execution and called for members of the European Union to join the U.S. in its condemnation.
A 2017 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association named 72 nations that criminalized homosexuality — including U.S. allies Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — and eight where it’s punishable by death.
By enlisting up the support of allies, the White House is opening a new front against Iran. The Shiite nation is an sponsor of international terrorism dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the demise of the U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a U.S.-led summit in Warsaw last week that it is impossible to “achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran.”
A source close to Trump told the Washington Examiner in October that Grenell, an outspoken critic of Iran, was a potential replacement for Nikki Haley as U.N. ambassador. He is now understood to be back on the list after Heather Nauert withdrew her name from consideration.
