Marc Knapper

Knapper earned his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and his Master of Arts from the Army War College.[1]

Knapper is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He previously served as the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea and, prior to that, was the embassy’s deputy chief of mission. Earlier, Knapper was director of the State Department’s Office of India Affairs and director of the State Department’s office of Japanese Affairs.[1] From 2004 to 2007, he was political affairs counselor at the U.S. embassy in Hanoi.[2] His other assignments include leadership positions in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He speaks Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.[1]

On April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Knapper to be the next United States Ambassador to Vietnam.[3] On April 19, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[4] His nomination is currently pending before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Knapper is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service award, the State Department’s Linguist of the Year award, and a Presidential Rank award.[1]