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Biden Administration International Affairs Personnel Tracker
Donald Lu
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
Ambassador Donald Lu is a career diplomat who began his government career as a member of the Peace Corps before joining the foreign service in 1990. Since then, he has served as Ambassador to Albania (2015-2018) and as Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan (2018-2021). President Biden later nominated him as Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, on April 23, 2021.
As the head of the Bureau, Amb. Lu will oversee U.S. foreign policy and relations in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Amb. Lu is fluent in numerous languages, including Chinese, Hindi, Russian, and more.
On China
Ambassador Donald Lu has not clearly made vocal his positions on China. However, as he will be managing the U.S. relationship with several countries that share a border with China and have critical relationships with the country, such as India and Pakistan, his office will be an important one to watch.
Notable Speeches, Testimony & Commentary
Media Commentary & Public Perceptions
“Kyrgyzstan ‘Ready To Closely Work’ With U.S. After ‘Meddling’ Accusation,” Radio Free Europe, December 11, 2020
Page Last Updated: June 24, 2021
*None of the personnel in this tracker are associated with the Institute for China-America Studies. All images used on this page are sourced from the official Biden-Harris transition website buildbackbetter.gov or the public domain.*
