Donald Lu

Donald Lu (born 1966)[2] is a United States diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs since 2021. He was the United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan from 2018 to 2021 and the United States Ambassador to Albania from 2015 to 2018.

Donald Lu
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
Assumed office
September 15, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byAlice G. Wells
United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
In office
October 12, 2018 – September 14, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded bySheila Gwaltney
United States Ambassador to Albania
In office
January 13, 2015 – July 24, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
DeputyDavid Muniz[1]
Preceded byAlexander Arvizu
Succeeded byYuri Kim
Personal details
Born1966 (age 54–55)
Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)Ariel Ahart
Alma materPrinceton University (A.B., M.P.A.)

Early life

Lu was born in Huntington Beach, California. He graduated with an A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1988 after completing a 158-page long senior thesis titled "The Involvement of International Peacekeeping in Providing Humanitarian Assistance."[3] He later received a M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1991. Lu was a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa in 1988-1990 helping restore hand-dug water wells, and teach health education and latrine construction.[4]

Diplomatic career

Lu joined the United States Foreign Service in 1990. He served as a political officer in Peshawar, Pakistan from 1992 to 1994; as a consular officer in Tbilisi, Georgia from 1994 to 1996; and as a special assistant to Ambassador Frank Wisner from 1996 to 1997 and then political officer at the embassy in New Delhi, India from 1997 to 2000, covering Kashmir and India-Pakistan relations. He served as special assistant to the ambassador for the Newly Independent States from 2000 to 2001, and then as deputy director in the Office of Central Asian and South Caucasus Affairs from 2001 to 2003.[5]

Lu served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyrgyzstan from 2003 to 2006, and in Azerbaijan from 2007 to 2009. He served as the Chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy to Azerbaijan from July 4, 2009 to July 2010, when the office of the United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan was vacant.[4][6] He was a proponent of the immediate appointment an ambassador.[7] In May 2010, Ambassador Matthew Bryza was nominated to take the post.

In July 2010, Lu was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India. He served in this post during president Obama's visit to New Delhi. This post was his second assignment to India.[4]

On July 25, 2013, Lu was nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Albania by President Obama.[8] Before moving to Tirana, Albania, he worked on the Ebola crisis in West Africa as Deputy Coordinator of Ebola response. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 2014.[9] He was sworn in on December 17, 2014 and presented his credentials on January 13, 2015.[10] This was his first official post as an Ambassador and not the Deputy Chief of Mission. He departed the post on September 19, 2018.[2]

On May 24, 2018, Lu was nominated by President Trump to be the next United States Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 6, 2018.[11] He was sworn in on September 18, 2018 and presented his credentials to Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on October 12, 2018.[12]

On April 23, 2021, President Joe Biden announced Lu as his nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.[13] On April 29, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[14] He was confirmed by voice vote on September 13, 2021 and sworn in on September 15, 2021.[5][15]

Awards
Secretary Clinton Is Greeted By Deputy Chief of Mission Lu

Lu was awarded with two Meritorious Honor Awards and five Superior Honor Awards.[4]

Personal life

He is married to Ariel Ahart, a public health specialist. The couple has two children. In addition to English, Lu speaks Chinese, West African Krio, Urdu, Hindi, Russian, Georgian, Azerbaijani and Albanian.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Deputy Chief of Mission". U.S. Department of State. July 2015. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. "Donald Lu (1966–)". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  3. Lu, Donald (1988). "The Involvement of International Peacekeeping in Providing Humanitarian Assistance". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Embassy of the United States". Archived from the original on 2010-12-05. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  5. "Donald Lu". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  6. Bewig, Matt (June 8, 2018). "Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan: Who Is Donald Lu?". www.allgov.com. AllGov.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  7. Victoria Dementiyeva (2010-02-02). "Charge d'Affaires Donald Lu: "There is no purpose to prolong the appointment of the new US ambassador to Azerbaijan"". Azeri Press Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  8. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  9. "PN1134 - Nomination of Donald Lu for Department of State, 113th Congress (2013-2014)". www.congress.gov. 2014-11-20. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  10. "Donald Lu". www.state.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  11. "PN2028 — Donald Lu — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  12. "New U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu meets with President of Kyrgyzstan". «24.kg» News Agency. October 12, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  13. "President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations in National Security", White House, April 23, 2021
  14. "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, April 29, 2021
  15. "PN551 - Nomination of Donald Lu for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
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