Michael Karloutsos has been appointed Acting Chief of Protocol, a high-profile position in the State Department, and will begin on July 24. He brings many years of extensive experience in politics and public relations to the position.

In an exclusive interview with The National Herald said that this appointment “is an incredible blessing and honor and I can only hope that I will meet everyone’s expectations” in this capacity. “I will serve as the Acting Chief of Protocol for the United States Government out of the State Department.”

He said the position “is a dream come true. My entire life I wanted to serve our country, the United States of America, and to be able to do it right now under the current administration, under these circumstances in which the world finds itself is an incredible honor, but also a great challenge.”

Explaining what his job will entail, Karloutsos said that “the Protocol Office overall serves essentially as the first line of defense in diplomacy for the United Stated of America. They call it ‘the first hand of diplomacy’ and the chief diplomat of the United States of America is the secretary of state. We establish the protocol between the United States of America and every other governments around the world with which we engage.” Karloutsos will work under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Explaining how and why he was chosen for the position, Karloutsos pointed to his vast and varied experiences, such as his involvement “every step of the way over the last 25 years of the many visits of the ecumenical patriarch to the United States, my work in politics, the work that I did with Pope Francis in Jerusalem, and then in Lesbos, and then of course the Great and Holy Council in Crete last year. I think all those things serve as preparation for me to assume the position at this time.” Also, “I thank God I that have good friends within the Administration who saw the work that I have done and they felt I was ready to assume that job.” He said “I am grateful to (Chief of Staff) Reince Priebus and (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance) George Gigicos” for their recommendations.