WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Indian American Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, a lifetime career member of the Foreign Service, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to the post of ambassador to Malaysia.
If appointed, Lakhdir would become the fourth Indian American in the U.S. Foreign Service elevated by the Obama administration. Ambassadors to India and Sri Lanka, Richard Verma and Atul Keshap, have already both been confirmed; Geeta Pasi, who has been nominated as ambassador to Chad has also yet to be confirmed.
Lakhdir previously served as the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2011 through 2015, according to the White House’s announcement.
She additionally served as the U.S. Consul General in Belfast from 2009 through 2011, worked in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs as the Director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia from 2007 to 2009 and prior to that as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2005 to 2006.
Since joining the Foreign Service in 1991, Lakhdhir has also served as a Political Officer in Indonesia and as a Consular Officer in Saudi Arabia.
Lakhdhir received a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.S. from the National War College.
