Michael DeSombre
United States Ambassador to Thailand
In office
March 2, 2020 – January 20, 2021
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byGlyn T. Davies
Succeeded byRobert F. Godec
Personal details
Born1968 (age 55–56)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children4
EducationStanford University (BA, MA)
Harvard University (JD)

Michael George DeSombre[1] (born 1968) is a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell[2] and a former United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand. He is also a former chairman of Save the Children Hong Kong.

Biography

DeSombre joined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in 1995 and became a partner of the law firm in 2004, leading its mergers and acquisitions practice in Asia,[3] with clients including Goldman Sachs, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Credit Suisse.[4]

In 2013, he co-founded Republicans Overseas for Americans abroad. The organization focuses on tax reform[5][6] and proposed replacing FATCA with territorial taxation for individuals to the House Ways and Means Committee, as part of a 2017 executive order to review the Dodd-Frank Act.[7][8]

DeSombre supported the presidential candidacies of Mitt Romney[9] and Jeb Bush.[10]

He was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Thailand by President Donald Trump on July 17, 2019.[11] He is the first political appointee to the position since 1975.[3] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 8, 2020,[4] succeeding career diplomat Glyn T. Davies.[12]

DeSombre has stated that his Office will primarily encourage the economic partnership between the two countries, with focus on American investment and Thailand's infrastructure projects and supply chains.[13] He has also indicated that U.S. firms are interested in increasing investment in Thailand, including in areas under the 1966 Amity treaty.[14] He was sworn into office on March 2, 2020.[15]

In late 2019, following his nomination, DeSombre resigned as chairman of Save the Children Hong Kong, having served since 2015. He was also a member of the board of the Hong Kong Forum.[4][12][16]

Following his ambassadorship, he became a senior advisor to the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue; an advisor to the Atlantic Council;[17][18] and was an independent director of Indorama Ventures in 2021.[19] In October 2021, DeSombre rejoined Sullivan & Cromwell as a partner, to again lead its Asia M&A, as well as heading the firm's Southeast Asia and Korea practices.[2]

Personal life and education

DeSombre was born in 1968 in Chicago, Illinois.[20] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics and a Master of Arts in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. He received his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1995.[3][21]

Prior to assuming his post in Bangkok in 2020, DeSombre lived in Hong Kong, residing in Asia for two decades. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and also can speak Korean and Japanese.[16][3] He is a supporter of the USA Rugby team,[16] and is active in intellectual and philanthropic communities. He is married with four children.[22]

References

  1. ^ Ambassador Michael George DeSombre, U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand, 2020, retrieved March 26, 2020
  2. ^ a b "Former US ambassador to Thailand rejoins Sullivan & Cromwell"; The Global Legal Post; October 25, 2021
  3. ^ a b c d "Lawyer nominated ambassador to Thailand", Bangkok Post, July 16, 2019, retrieved March 26, 2020
  4. ^ a b c Trump Pick DeSombre Made Over $4 Million at Sullivan & Cromwell, Bloomberg Law, August 1, 2019, retrieved March 26, 2020
  5. ^ Fok, Alex (September 19, 2017), "Republicans launch worldwide campaign in bid for territorial taxation", Harbour Times, retrieved March 27, 2020
  6. ^ "About", Republicans Overseas, 2020, retrieved March 27, 2020
  7. ^ "White Paper on Territorial Taxation for Individuals", Republicans Overseas, 2020, retrieved March 27, 2020
  8. ^ Johnson, David (February 10, 2017), "See Every Executive Order Donald Trump Has Signed Since Becoming President", Time, retrieved March 27, 2020
  9. ^ McClain, Greta (October 3, 2012), "Romney says 'heart aches' for unemployed, plans China fundraiser", Digital Journal, retrieved March 27, 2020
  10. ^ "Bush dials China for White House campaign donations", The Financial Times, September 8, 2015, retrieved March 27, 2020
  11. ^ "Seven Nominations Sent to the Senate", The White House, July 17, 2019
  12. ^ a b US-Thai diplomatic relations return to normal, Thai Public Broadcasting Service, August 29, 2019, retrieved March 26, 2020
  13. ^ "Economy first for new US ambassador", Bangkok Post, March 12, 2020, retrieved March 26, 2020
  14. ^ US election will impact investment and moves by US firms from China to Thailand says new American envoy, Thai Examiner, March 12, 2020, retrieved March 26, 2020
  15. ^ @USAsiaPacific (March 2, 2020). "Congratulations to Ambassador DeSombre on his ceremonial swearing-in as the U.S. Ambassador to #Thailand. His appointment underscores our enduring commitment to our U.S.-Thai alliance, which is rooted in a friendship entering its third century" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ a b c Desombre, Michael George – Kingdom of Thailand – CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY, U.S. Department of State, July 29, 2019, retrieved March 26, 2020
  17. ^ Atlantic Council
  18. ^ "IVL Appoints 'Harald Link' as Independent Director"; Kaohoon International; November 2, 2021
  19. ^ "Michael G DeSombre"; Bloomberg; October 27, 2023
  20. ^ Clapp, Jeanie J.; Irvine, Diana R. (1999), The American Bar - The Canadian Bar - The Mexican Bar - The International Bar, Forster-Long, p. 3811, ISBN 9780931398407, retrieved March 27, 2020
  21. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts" White House, July 15, 2019 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  22. ^ "Ambassador Michael George DeSombre", U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand, 2020, retrieved March 28, 2020
Diplomatic posts Preceded byGlyn T. Davies United States Ambassador to Thailand 2020–2021 Succeeded byMichael HeathChargé d’Affaires
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