Brent Christensen, a veteran career diplomat, has been nominated as the next U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, the White House announced on Tuesday (September 2).

According to the White House newsletter, “Brent Christensen, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.”

His nomination was part of a series of appointments unveiled on September 2 that also included State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as Ambassador to the United Nations and Sergey Gor as Ambassador to India. All nominations require Senate confirmation.

Christensen is no stranger to Bangladesh. His biography on the U.S. Department of State’s official website adds, “A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Christensen previously served as Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2019-2021), Deputy Director, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the Department of State (2016-2019), and as a Pearson Fellow on detail to the majority staff of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific (2015-2016).”

See the full Nominations & Appointments letter sent to the U.S. Senate here

His earlier postings included Special Assistant to the Special Representative for North Korea Policy, Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs Cyber Coordinator, Deputy Counselor for Economic Affairs at the US Embassy in Manila, Deputy Economic Counselor in San Salvador, Economic Officer in Riyadh, and Vice Consul at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The US Embassy in Dhaka has been without an ambassador since Peter Haas completed his tenure in mid-2024. Since then, the mission has been led by a series of chargés d’affaires, with Tracey Ann Jacobson currently serving in the role since January.