Bryza was appointed to the post by U.S. president Barack Obama. The president used his constitutional power to recess appoint six people who have had their nominations pending for an average of 147 days, according to White House officials. The U.S Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved Bryza’s appointment on Sept. 22.

Bryza served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of European and Eurasian Affairs. His candicacy was officially proposed by Obama.

The post of U.S. Ambassador in Baku had been vacant since the previous ambassador, Anne Derse, left it after completing of her diplomatic mission in July 2009.

Bryza was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of European and Eurasian Affairs in 2005. He previously served as the Director for Europe and Eurasia at the National Security Council in the White House and has also been Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. He had earlier served in Russia and Poland, and was appointed as the U.S. co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.