Della M. Newman (June 6, 1932 – July 11, 2023) was an American businesswoman who served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 1989 to 1992.
Senator Paul Sarbanes criticized President Bush for his unusually high percentage of political appointees to ambassadorships.
According to the Los Angeles Times: Bush has announced 42 ambassadorial appointments, of which only 14--one-third of the total--have gone to career diplomats.
Of the rest, 21 are strictly political, including several persons who had contributed more than $100,000 to Bush’s campaign coffers; the other seven are legally classified as political because they are not members of the nonpartisan Foreign Service, although they are foreign policy professionals who served in previous Republican administrations.
Newman's appointment was one of three put on hold because they “were judged to be unqualified by the American Academy of Diplomacy.” Cited was that not only was she the State Chair of his campaign, but also that her husband was a major contributor.