October 7, U.S. President Barack Obma said he intends to appoint openly gay David Houbner to the position of Ambassador to New Zeeland and Samoa. The matter arouse interest in U.S. as it is Obama’s first appointment of an openly gay ambassador, The New Zeeland Herald reports.

“Mr Huebner is currently a lawyer based in Shanghai for a United States law firm where he specialises in international arbitration and mediation. He also acts as general counsel for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,” the daily reads.

According to the newspaper, Embassy in New Zeeland did not confirm the information, “saying there was no announcement from the White House as yet.”