Dhaka welcomes Biden’s nomination of next US envoy to BD

Dhaka welcomes Biden’s nomination of next US envoy to BD

Dhaka, May 10 - Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has welcomed US President Joe Biden’s nomination regarding the new US Ambassador to Bangladesh.

He hoped that the new ambassador (nominated) will further take forward the relations with Bangladesh.   

Responding to a question at Foreign Service Academy on Friday, the foreign minister said they received the name much earlier.

US President Joe Biden has nominated David Slayton Meale, currently Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing, as the next US Ambassador to Bangladesh.

The nomination has been sent to the Senate, according to the White House.

David Meale of Virginia is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor.

The current US ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas, will soon end his tenure in Dhaka.

David Meale assumed the position of Deputy Chief of Mission on March 26, 2022, having served as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from July 2021.

Prior to his arrival in Beijing, he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy and Negotiations for the Economic Bureau at the U.S Department of State. He was previously the Director for Sanctions Policy and Implementation.

Meale’s prior positions have included: Associate Dean for the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, DC; Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine; Deputy Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs in the Economic Bureau; and additional positions in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Guinea, and Washington. He joined the Foreign Service in 1992 and holds the rank of Minister-Counselor.

Prior to his Foreign Service Career, Meale held positions in corporate finance with Sprint Telecommunications. He has an MS from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School, an MBA from Tulane University, and a BA from the University of Delaware.

He has studied Mandarin Chinese, Ukrainian, and French at the Foreign Service Institute.

Meale is married to Lisa O’Donnell, a teacher, and has two boys, Theo and Bennett, who are both in college.-UNB