Stephen M. Young (diplomat)

Stephen Young

Stephen M. Young (1951- ) is an American diplomat. Ambassador Young has been named the Consulate General of the United States in Hong Kong in the administration of President Barack Obama. He is scheduled to take office in March 2010. In his new capacity, Young will be responsible for the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.[1] He was the Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto United States embassy there, from March 18, 2006 to July 4th, 2009. Recently, he was a member of the faculty at the National Defense University's Industrial College of the Armed Forces, located at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.[2]

Dr. Young was born in Washington D.C. and moved to Taiwan at age 12, where his father served as a military adviser to the Taiwanese army in Kaohsiung from 1963 to 1965. He was educated at Wesleyan University, where he received his B.A. and the University of Chicago, where he received an M.A. and Ph.D. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and Russian.

Within the Department of State, he has served in the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs and the Office of Soviet Affairs. He has been the Director of the Office of Caucasus and Security Affairs, the Director of the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs, the Director of the Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh Affairs, and the Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs.

His overseas assignments include two tours in Moscow, a tour in Beijing, and as Director of the AIT in Taipei, Taiwan. His most recent overseas assignment was as Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic.

Mr. Young is married to Barbara A. Finamore, an attorney who heads the China Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. They have three children.

Sources

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: AIT/Taipei Director - Stephen M. Young, American Institute in Taiwan