Long-time Barack Obama supporter State Senator Tony Hill is close to being appointed Bermuda's new US Consul General, according to reports in the United States.

The father-of-four, 51, a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, would be the first black person in the post of the senior US diplomat on the Island.

He will reportedly replace Gregory Slayton who was given the role by George Bush in 2005.

Florida's Jacksonville.com reported yesterday: "State Sen. Tony Hill said Washington insiders have told him that President Barack Obama is close to appointing him as the senior US diplomat in Bermuda."

The report includes this comment attributed to Sen. Hill: "They keep saying next week, but I've been hearing that for three or four weeks."

Sen. Hill would have to resign from the Senate to take the job, said Jacksonville.com.

It describes him as an early Obama supporter who is actively involved with the national Democratic party.The Florida Senate website says he is vice chairman of Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations, and sits on a number of committees including the Policy and Steering Committee on Governmental Operations, the Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means, and Children, Families, and Elder Affairs.He was elected to the Senate in 2002, and is currently the Minority (Democratic) Whip.Sen. Hill featured in ONYX Magazine's 25 Most Influential Floridians in 2002, and he was the youngest inductee and first African American in Florida's Labor Hall Of Fame.His affiliations include the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Executive Council.