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Donald Lu

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Donald Lu
United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 12, 2018
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 57–58)
Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
SpouseAriel Ahart
Alma materPrinceton University (A.B., M.P.A.)

Donald Lu (born 1966) is a United States diplomat. He was the immediate past Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India. From late 2014 through 2018 he was the US Ambassador to Albania. Lu was nominated by President Trump to be the next United States Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic on May 24, 2018 and confirmed by the Senate on September 6, 2018.[2] He was sworn in on September 18, 2018,[3] and presented his credentials to Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on October 12, 2018.[4]

Early life

Lu was born in Huntington Beach, California. He graduated with an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson 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."[5] 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.[6]

Political career

Lu joined the United States Foreign Service in 1990 and held posts in Pakistan, India, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Washington. He has been working with the State Department for over 25 years. Before he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, he served as the Chargé d'affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission for United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan from July 4, 2009, through July 2010, when the office of the Ambassador to Azerbaijan had not been filled yet. He was one of proponents of immediate appointment of US Ambassador to Azerbaijan.[6][7] In May 2010, the current Ambassador Matthew Bryza was already nominated to take the post and Lu was assigned to India in July 2010. The new post in New Delhi is Lu's second assignment to India. He was the Deputy Chief of Mission during president Obama's visit to New Delhi. He had previously worked as staff assistant to Ambassador Frank Wisner and as the political officer covering Kashmir and India-Pakistan relations in late 1990s.[6] Before moving to Tirana, Albania, he worked on the Ebola crisis in West Africa as Deputy Coordinator of Ebola response. He was sworn in as a U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Albania on December 17, 2014. He moved to Tirana, Albania, in late 2014 as the United States Ambassador. This was his first official post as an Ambassador and not the Deputy Chief of Mission. Subsequent to his May 2018 nomination to be Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, it was reported that he would be leaving Albania in July 2018.[8] He was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic on September 18, 2018.[3]

Awards

Secretary Clinton Is Greeted By Deputy Chief of Mission Lu

Lu was awarded with two Meritorious Honor Awards and five Superior Honor Awards.[6]

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.[6]

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. ^ "PN2028 — Donald Lu — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  3. ^ a b "Donald Lu". www.state.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "New U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu meets with President of Kyrgyzstan". «24.kg» News Agency. October 12, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  5. ^ Lu, Donald (1988). "The Involvement of International Peacekeeping in Providing Humanitarian Assistance". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e "Embassy of the United States". Archived from the original on 2010-12-05. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  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. ^ 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.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
2018–present 		Incumbent
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