Ambassador A. Peter Burleigh has assumed duties as the Charg’ d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission in India. An American embassy press release issued in New Delhi today said that Burleigh’s interim appointment has been cleared by by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He took over charge from the US ambassador Timothy J. Roemer who demitted office yesterday.Ambassador Burleigh joined the Foreign Service of the United States in 1967, after spending a year as a Fulbright scholar in Nepal. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the American Foreign Service Association. He retired after 33 years of service in August 2000. In October 2000, he was awarded the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Medal and in December 2000, he was designated for a Presidential Distinguished Service Award by President Clinton.