Diplomatic Correspondent :
US President Joe Biden has nominated David Slayton Meale as the next Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Meale is set to succeed Peter Haas, who has been the US envoy in Dhaka since July 2021.
President Biden made the nomination on Thursday.
David Meale, a seasoned diplomat, is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and holds the rank of Minister-Counselor.
He is currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, and has also served as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
Before his assignment in Beijing, Meale was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy and Negotiations in the Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
His earlier roles include Director for Sanctions Policy and Implementation in the same bureau.
He has served as Associate Dean for the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C., and has significant prior experience in Bangladesh as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka.
His other diplomatic posts have included Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Deputy Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs in the Economic Bureau, with additional assignments in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Guinea, and Washington, D.C.
Before joining the Foreign Service, Meale worked in corporate finance with Sprint Telecommunications. He is originally from Virginia and holds an M.S. from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School, an MBA from Tulane University, and a B.A. from the University of Delaware.
He is fluent in Chinese, Ukrainian, and French and is a recipient of the Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission.