Diplomat Marc Knapper is likely to replace Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink as the new US ambassador to Vietnam. Photo: The White House

The White House announced the list quickly on April 16. Since taking office as US president, this is the first time Mr. Biden has selected an official as a representative abroad.

Notable in this list is the change in ambassador position in Vietnam. Accordingly, Mr. Knapper is expected to replace Mr. Daniel Kritenbrink after more than 3 years working in Vietnam. President Biden also nominated Mr. Kritenbrink to assume the position of assistant foreign minister in charge of East Asia and Pacific.

According to the process, after receiving the nomination of President Biden, Mr. Knapper will have a hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the necessary step to reach the ratification of the Senate of this country.

In the list of nine nominees, it can be seen that the Biden administration gives priority to professional diplomats. CNN assessed this as a signal that Mr. Biden wants to change the way of former President Donald Trump, who has a tendency to appoint officials (not professional diplomats) as ambassadors in many countries.

In addition to Mr. Knapper, the remaining 8 nominees include Larry André as Somalia’s ambassador, Elizabeth Moore Aubin as Algerian ambassador, Steven Bondy as Bahrain’s ambassador, Maria Brewer as ambassador of Lesotho, Christopher Lamora as Ambassador of Cameroon, Tulinabo Mushingi is ambassador to Angola and Sao Tome & Principe, Michael Raynor is ambassador for Senegal and the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, and Eugene Young as ambassador to the Republic of Congo.

Mr. Knapper is currently the deputy foreign minister in charge of Japan and Korea at the East Asia and Pacific Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since September 2018.

Before in charge of Japan – Korea, Mr. Knapper was the Representative from 2017-2018 and the Deputy Head of the US diplomatic mission from 2015-2016 at the US Embassy in Seoul, Korea; Indian Affairs Director; The director is in charge of Japanese affairs and has had many other diplomatic positions in Iraq and Japan.

Candidate for the position of US Ambassador to Vietnam has worked twice in Korea. In 2017, he was the State Department representative in the Spent Fuel Team at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. In 2000, he was a member of the delegation of Foreign Minister Madeleine Albright to visit Pyongyang.

In the period 2004-2007, Mr. Knapper served as political counselor at the embassy in Hanoi. The White House website states that Mr. Knapper can speak Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.

The nominee for the new ambassador to Vietnam received the Secretary of State for Distinguished Award, as the highest diplomatic honor of the United States.

Mr. Knapper graduated with an excellent degree from Princeton University and studied at the University of Tokyo, the intensive Japanese program of Middlebury College, the American Army War College and the XXI Thematic Research program of the Institute of Technology. Massachusetts.

Mr. Marc Evans Knapper was nominated by US President Joe Biden as Ambassador to Vietnam. Photo: US State Department.

US President Joe Biden on April 15 nominated a new ambassador to Vietnam – Mr. Marc Evans Knapper.

As a senior officer of the US State Department, who is expected to succeed Ambassador Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Mr. Knapper is currently serving as an assistant secretary to Japan and Korea in the US State Department.

Previously, Mr. Knapper worked at US embassies in Seoul, South Korea, Baghdad, Iraq and Japan, and the US State Department’s Office of Indian Affairs and Japan Affairs.

From 2004 to 2007, he was a counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Hanoi and is fluent in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese. Mr. Knapper graduated from Princeton University and holds a master’s degree from the US Army War College, which offers postgraduate training for military officers and elite citizens to prepare them for duties and leadership positions. high level. He has also received many awards, such as the Foreign Minister’s Excellence Award, the Foreign Ministry’s Linguist of the Year Award, and the Presidential Distinguished Excellence Award.

The decision to officially appoint the ambassadors nominated will be effective after being approved by the US Senate.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink will become Assistant Secretary of State in charge of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.