Knapper, Marc Evans – Socialist Republic of Vietnam -May 2021

REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

UNITED STATES SENATE

SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of
Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service
Act, Section 304(a)(4)

POST: Socialist Republic of Vietnam

CANDIDATE: Marc Evans Knapper

Marc Evans Knapper, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan and Korea in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of State. Before assuming that position, Mr. Knapper was the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea, in 2017 and 2018, and prior to that he was the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission. Earlier, Mr. Knapper was Director of the State Department’s Office of India Affairs and Director of the State Department’s Office of Japanese Affairs. Mr. Knapper has spent almost his entire career, spanning over 25 years, working on the policy issues of the East Asian region and studying its languages and culture. He speaks Vietnamese and for three years led the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. This extensive and substantive experience in the region, coupled with his demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams as well as policy-oriented offices, makes him an excellent candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Mr. Knapper’s other assignments include leadership positions in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier in his career, Mr. Knapper served in the Office of China and Mongolia Affairs in the State Department, and he also had two previous assignments in the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. He also served as Ambassador Walter Mondale’s Aide in the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Mr. Knapper earned his B.A. from Princeton University and his M.A. from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He also studied at the University of Tokyo prior to joining the Foreign Service. He is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, including the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award and the Linguist of the Year Award. He has also received a Presidential Rank Award. His foreign languages are Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.