KEI Contributor

Daniel J. Kritenbrink became Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs on September 24, 2021. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, Kritenbrink has been an American diplomat since 1994.

Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2017-2021), Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council (2015-2017), and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (2013-2015). He also completed multiple other overseas tours in Beijing, Tokyo, Sapporo, and Kuwait City. His other Washington assignments have included Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs at the Department of State and Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

A Nebraska native, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink earned a master’s degree at the University of Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. He speaks Chinese and Japanese.