Diplomat Swears on E-book of US Constitution
Published in Stern
(Germany) on 3 June 2014
by (link to original)
(Germany) on 3 June 2014
by (link to original)
Translated from
by Rachel Hutcheson.
Edited by Bora Mici.
Even for modern people, this looks very strange: U.S. diplomat Suzi LeVine took her oath of office with her hand on a Kindle, which had the American Constitution loaded on it.
Suzi LeVine has not had a completely ordinary career. She studied aeronautics, worked for Microsoft, and managed the travel website Expedia. After the birth of her second child, she was a political fundraiser for Barack Obama’s election campaign and raised $1.5 million. As a thank you, Obama made her U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein. LeVine is causing a sensation for another reason, however: She took her oath of office with the help of a Kindle. This makes her the first ambassador to be sworn in using an e-book reader.
No Bible Available
The swearing in took place in the U.S. Embassy in London. Now, the "adventure" in "stunning Switzerland," as she wrote on her Twitter account, AmbSuzi, begins for LeVine. LeVine will live in Switzerland with her husband, two children and dog Vegas. According to early media reports, she is an enthusiastic hiker and mountain biker — passions she can freely indulge in the Alps.
However, LeVine is not the first person to take her oath on a screen. As The Washington Post has already reported, a group of firefighters from New Jersey were sworn in using an iPad because no one could find a printed copy of the Bible quickly enough. A not otherwise specified "official" from Long Island had done the same prior to this, writes the newspaper.
And this raises the not completely unorthodox question: When will the U.S. president take his oath on a heap of pixels?
Suzi LeVine has not had a completely ordinary career. She studied aeronautics, worked for Microsoft, and managed the travel website Expedia. After the birth of her second child, she was a political fundraiser for Barack Obama’s election campaign and raised $1.5 million. As a thank you, Obama made her U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein. LeVine is causing a sensation for another reason, however: She took her oath of office with the help of a Kindle. This makes her the first ambassador to be sworn in using an e-book reader.
No Bible Available
The swearing in took place in the U.S. Embassy in London. Now, the "adventure" in "stunning Switzerland," as she wrote on her Twitter account, AmbSuzi, begins for LeVine. LeVine will live in Switzerland with her husband, two children and dog Vegas. According to early media reports, she is an enthusiastic hiker and mountain biker — passions she can freely indulge in the Alps.
However, LeVine is not the first person to take her oath on a screen. As The Washington Post has already reported, a group of firefighters from New Jersey were sworn in using an iPad because no one could find a printed copy of the Bible quickly enough. A not otherwise specified "official" from Long Island had done the same prior to this, writes the newspaper.
And this raises the not completely unorthodox question: When will the U.S. president take his oath on a heap of pixels?