A president can appoint a politically connected friend or choose one from the diplomatic corp. But in any case they are all political appointments selected by t

A president can appoint a politically connected friend or choose one from the diplomatic corp. But in any case they are all political appointments selected by the president. Now, for sensitive countries you want a specialist. Like your probably not sending golfing buddies to broker Israel/Palestine peace agreements. But they'll probably do alright being the Ambassador to Belgium or Canada. Those embassies are practically on rails.