Brent Christensen nominated as next US ambassador to Bangladesh
The White House has nominated veteran diplomat Brent Christensen to serve as the next US ambassador to Bangladesh, pending approval by the US Senate.
Christensen, a senior Foreign Service officer with the rank of counsellor, is currently acting as the senior official performing the duties of under secretary for Arms Control and International Security—a position he assumed in January 2025 under President Donald Trump.
This will not be Christensen’s first assignment in Dhaka. Between 2019 and 2021, he worked at the US Embassy in Bangladesh as counsellor for political and economic affairs. Earlier in his career, he also served in the State Department’s Office of Pakistan and Bangladesh Affairs as the Bangladesh Country Officer, giving him direct experience with South Asian diplomatic issues.
Christensen would take up the role at a critical moment in US-Bangladesh relations, with the two countries expanding cooperation on counterterrorism, defense, climate adaptation, renewable energy, trade, and labor rights. Washington has also shown heightened interest in Dhaka’s geostrategic importance in the Indo-Pacific, where China’s influence has been steadily growing.
From August 2022 to January 2025, Christensen was foreign policy advisor to the commander of the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), where he focused on global security dynamics, nuclear deterrence, and allied coordination. Over more than 20 years in the Foreign Service, he has held senior positions in both Washington and abroad, including deputy director of the Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, special assistant to the Special Representative for North Korea Policy, and Pearson Fellow with the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
His overseas postings have taken him to US embassies in Manila, San Salvador, Riyadh, and Ho Chi Minh City, reflecting his broad diplomatic experience across Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Christensen holds a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College, where he graduated with distinction in 2022. He also earned a Master’s degree in statistics from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor’s in economics and managerial studies from Rice University.
Fluent in Spanish, German, and Vietnamese—with working knowledge of French, Japanese, and Portuguese—Christensen brings a strong linguistic background to his diplomatic work. Before entering the Foreign Service in 2002, he worked as a management consultant in Houston and New York.
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