Trump appoints 'Ex-US envoy to Thailand' as assistant Secretary of State

Former US Ambassador to Thailand, Michael George DeSombre, has been appointed by Donald Trump as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. DeSombre is a legal expert specializing in business law, particularly mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

DeSombre is the first US ambassador to be appointed as a political appointee since 1975.

He was born in 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in quantitative economics and a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. In 1995, he obtained a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude.

DeSombre began his career at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in 1995 and became a partner in 2004. He specialized in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Asia. 

In 2020, President Donald Trump appointed DeSombre as US Ambassador to Thailand during the administration of former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. He held this position until 2021, playing a key role in strengthening US-Thailand relations.

After completing his diplomatic mission, he rejoined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as a partner, leading M&A in Asia and overseeing business operations in Southeast Asia and Korea.

DeSombre is a skilled linguist, fluent in Mandarin Chinese, with proficiency in Korean and Japanese. He lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years and played an active role in intellectual and philanthropic communities. Currently, he serves as a senior advisor on diplomacy at the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University. From 2015 to 2020, he was the Chairman of the Board of Save the Children Hong Kong.

President Donald Trump, in a statement on Truth Social, expressed strong confidence in DeSombre’s commitment to serving the nation:

"I am pleased to announce that Ambassador Michael George DeSombre will be nominated as the next Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs."

Trump further emphasized DeSombre’s past diplomatic success:

"During my first term, Michael served as the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand and did an excellent job!"