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The United States Senate has formally approved the appointment of career foreign service officer John Feeley as ambassador to Panama, launching a new era in diplomatic affairs. As the U.S.’s top man in Panama, Feeley will play a key role in maintaining the relationship between the two countries and, hopefully, open more doors for U.S. businesses and investors.

So far, he’s saying all the right things. In a speech to the Senate confirmation hearing, he emphasized the strategic importance of Panama to the United States and praised its growth as a regional economic leader. His priorities will be to support the “significant retiree and expatriate population that lives in Panama,” as well as encouraging more investment opportunities for U.S. companies and to “shore up the integrity of our interconnected financial and banking systems,” he told the Senate.

If Ambassador Feeley makes good on his goals, he could provide a major boost to the real estate market, which is growing thanks to U.S. investors, expatriates and expanding businesses in Panama. He can be an important player in trade policies to encourage more U.S. companies to set up operations in Panama, as well as ease the flow of investments.

U.S. buyers and renters don’t dominate the Panama market like they once did, as more investors have entered the market from Latin America and Europe, but the U.S. is still the most important relationship for Panama. Any growth in U.S. investment in Panama will pay direct dividends for the real estate market.

So who is the new Ambassador? Mr. Feeley is a former helicopter pilot in the U.S. Marines who has spent most of his diplomatic career focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. Most he recently served as principal deputy assistant secretary at the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, where he helped manage diplomatic posts around the Americas and worked on the effort to reopen diplomatic channels with Cuba.

Although this is his first ambassador post, he is veteran of foreign service, including posts in Mexico City and Colombia. He has served both Republicans secretaries Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

One interesting side note: he was serving as deputy chief of mission in Mexico City in 2011, when he was bumped up to chargé d’affaires when Ambassador Carlos Pascual was sent home after some “embarrassing” cables were released as part of the Bradley Manning’s WikiLeaks scandal. “Feeley later testified in secret at Manning’s trial concerning the release’s impact on relations with Mexico and Ecuador,” according to a State Department release.

Feeley is married to another diplomat, Cherie Feeley, and they have two sons.

Read more about the new Ambassador here.

Jeff Barton is managing director of Punta Pacifica Realty, a Panama real estate agency focused on Punta Pacifica, the exclusive neighborhood of 18 towers perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.