Brian Wesley Shukan[1] is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service (class of Minister-Counselor) who is serving as the United States ambassador to Benin.

[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law, and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok “has repeatedly urged the West to end his country’s international pariah status ... (saying) it’s the only way to save the nation’s fragile democratic transition from a plunging economy.”[6] By lifting sanctions, Sudan would be eligible for loans from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

It has been said, “Sudan needs up to $8 billion in foreign aid in the next two years and another $2 billion deposited as reserves to shore up the local currency.”[6] To that end, Sudanese Assistant Undersecretary Elham Ahmed met with Shukan in October 2019 and “found herself repeating the same demand ... asking for a U.S. plan to end the designation.” On November 3, 2019, Shukan told Sudanese Foreign Minister Asma Abdalla “that there are attempts to remove Sudan from the U.S. list but that this ‘requires some time.’”.

[7] On August 4, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Shukan to be the next United States Ambassador to Benin.