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Lana Marks

Lana J. Marks (born November 18, 1953) is a South African-born American business executive who founded the eponymous fashion brand. She is the former United States Ambassador to South Africa, having served from 2020 to 2021.

Early life and education

Lana J. Marks was born in East London, South Africa. Her father, Alec Bank, had immigrated from Lithuania as a child; he was an affluent property developer and a leader in the Jewish community.[1] She attended Clarendon High School for Girls in East London, and speaks Xhosa and Afrikaans.[2]

Marks is an avid tennis player, having played for Bermuda, having won bronze medals for the United States in the Maccabiah Games in 1985, playing in the South African Open, and also made it to the qualifying rounds of the French Open.[3][1][2][4][5]

Career

Marks was the CEO and designer of Lana Marks, a fashion accessories brand which specializes in exotic leathers and is known for creating some of the world's most expensive handbags.[6][7][8] When Helen Mirren won an Academy Award in 2007, she carried a handbag designed by Marks to the stage.[1] Her daughter currently runs the brand.[9] The Lana Marks company has stores in Palm Beach, New York, Beverly Hills, and Dubai.[5]

Ambassador to South Africa

Marks’s rumored appointment to the ambassadorship was leaked from a source within the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa's foreign affairs department.[10] On November 14, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Marks to be the United States Ambassador to South Africa. Marks had known Trump for more than two decades and was a member of his Mar-a-Lago club.[11] She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 2019.[12] She was sworn into office on October 4, 2019,[13] and arrived at her posting on November 9, 2019, and presented her diplomatic credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa on January 28, 2020.[14][15]

Marks has been a member of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort since 2010.[16] She was among several Mar-a-Lago members to be chosen by Trump for a role in his administration.[17]

Marks stated that her primary goals include youth and women’s empowerment.[18] During her first sixty days, Marks launched two major initiatives, to invite all of Africa's leaders to a U.S.-Africa investment summit in Washington D.C., and to lift South Africa into a top-20 U.S. trading partner.[15]

Assassination attempt

In September 2020, anonymous U.S. intelligence sources claimed that Iran was planning an assassination attempt on Marks in South Africa. The plot, claimed the sources, was in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed the former commander of Qods Force, Qasem Soleimani, and deputy leader of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on January 3, 2020.[19]

The signing of a letter of intent between the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and NuScale, to develop 2,500 MW of nuclear power in South Africa, was cited as perhaps being one of her most significant accomplishments.[20]

In March 2020, Marks refused to quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 at an event at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s club in Florida.[21] In December 2020, Marks spent 10 days in intensive care with Covid-19.[22]

As a Trump political appointee ambassador, she resigned from the office following the inauguration of President Joe Biden on 20 January 2021 and was succeeded by John Groarke as Charge d'Affaires ad interim.[23]

Personal life

Marks has been married to Dr. Neville Marks, a practicing psychiatrist affiliated with JFK Medical Center, since 1976.[24] Marks and her husband later lived in Bermuda before moving to Florida in 1987.[1][5] She has two children.[25]

Marks was a personal friend of Diana, Princess of Wales.[26] According to Marks, the two women had planned a four-day trip to Italy for the end of August 1997. Marks canceled at the last minute when Marks's father had a heart attack. Diana went to Paris with her partner Dodi Fayed where they were killed in a car accident.[27]

Since 2010, Marks has been a member of Mar-a-Lago. According to Marks, she joined because other country clubs in Palm Beach did not admit Jewish members.[28][29]

External links

References

  1. Allison Kaplan Sommer. The Long, Strange Journey of Lana Marks, Trump's Pick for South African Ambassador Haaretz, November 22, 2018, retrieved December 1, 2018^
  2. Nicole Gaouette, Elizabeth Landers. Trump picks handbag designer, Mar-a-Lago member to be envoy to South Africa CNN, 2018-11-04, retrieved 2018-11-16^
  3. Allison Kaplan Sommer. The Long, Strange Journey of Lana Marks, Trump's Pick for South African Ambassador Haaretz, November 22, 2018^
  4. Kyle Munzenrieder. Lana Marks: The Handbag Designer Trump Reportedly Wants to Make Ambassador to South Africa W, October 22, 2018, retrieved December 1, 2018^
  5. Michael Bleby. We spoke to handbag designer and soon-to-be US ambassador to SA: this is what she said BusinessDay, October 1, 2018, retrieved 2018-11-19^
  6. Madhu Puri. Now Gifting - Bespoke Bags The New York Times, 3 December 2006, retrieved 4 April 2018^
  7. Hitha Prabhakar. World's Most Extravagant Handbags forbes.com, retrieved 4 April 2018^
  8. Sharelle Burt. Trump Nominates Handbag Designer As Ambassador To South Africa Travel Noire, November 15, 2018, retrieved 2018-11-16^
  9. Shannon Donnelly. Call her 'Madame Ambassador' Palm Beach Daily News^
  10. Jason Burke Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington. Trump reportedly picks handbag designer as ambassador to South Africa The Guardian, October 2, 2018^
  11. Officials: Iran weighs plot to kill U.S. ambassador to South Africa www.politico.com, 13 September 2020, retrieved 2020-09-14^
  12. President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts whitehouse.gov, retrieved 2018-11-15^
  13. Go, Lana! Congratulations on your swearing-in! Countdown to welcoming you here in South Africa! October 6, 2019^
  14. , Lana Marks Returns to South Africa as US Ambassador.^
  15. Peter Fabricius. The Interview: US ambassador's ambition: Lift SA into top 20 of US trade partners Daily Maverick, 2020-01-31, retrieved 2020-02-07^
  16. Robbie Gramer. At Embassies Abroad, Trump Envoys Are Quietly Pushing Out Career Diplomats February 5, 2020^
  17. The long, strange journey of Lana Marks, Trump's pick for South African ambassador Haaretz, retrieved 2021-06-02^
  18. , US Ambassador Lana Marks Takes Short Left In Soweto.^
  19. Nahal Toosi. Officials: Iran weighs plot to kill U.S. ambassador to South Africa Politico, September 13, 2020, retrieved 2020-09-14^
  20. Peter Fabricius. United States Ambassador Departs Pretoria Daily Maverick, 21 January 2021, retrieved 25 January 2021^
  21. Lara Jakes. U.S. Diplomat Coughs Online, and European Allies Wonder if They Were Exposed The New York Times, 2020-11-01, retrieved 2021-06-02^
  22. Andrew Meldrum. US Ambassador in South Africa Better after ICU Virus Care AP News, Associated Press, 11 January 2021, retrieved 25 January 2021^
  23. US envoy to SA: Amid change, an enduring partnership will remain U.S Embassy & Consulates in South Africa, 21 January 2021, retrieved 21 January 2021^
  24. Dr. Neville MarksMD^
  25. Tish Durkin. Talking With Lana Marks, Who's Ready to Ditch Palm Beach for Pretoria Intelligencer, February 3, 2019^
  26. Time, February 2 1998 Time, retrieved 4 April 2018^
  27. Rosemary Feitelberg. Lana Marks: The Makings of a Fashion-Focused Ambassador nominee WWD, 2018-11-15, retrieved 2018-11-16^
  28. Tish Durkin. Talking With Lana Marks, Who's Ready to Ditch Palm Beach for Pretoria Intelligencer, February 3, 2019^
  29. Roxanne Roberts. Palm Beach used to be a nice town for billionaires. Then Trump came along. The Washington Post, January 8, 2019, retrieved March 21, 2020^