Robert W. Forden

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Robert W. Forden
United States Ambassador to Cambodia
Nominee
Assuming office
Awaiting confirmation by US Senate
PresidentJoe Biden
SucceedingW. Patrick Murphy
United States Chargé d'affaires to China
In office
October 5, 2020 – July 11, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byTerry Branstad
as Ambassador
Succeeded byDavid Meale
as Chargé d'affaires
Personal details
BornAugust 1959 (age 64)
California, United States
SpouseHui-chuan Chi
Children3
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Cruz (B.A.)
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Robert William Forden is an American diplomat who served as the United States' Chargé d'affaires to China from 2020 to 2021. He previously served as the deputy chief of mission to the American Institute in Taiwan and the deputy chief of mission to the Embassy of the United States in Beijing. He is the current nominee to be the next United States Ambassador to Cambodia.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Forden was born in Southern California[2] in August 1959.[3] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a postgraduate degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in international trade and Asian diplomatic history.[4]

Career[edit]

Forden's experience in China stems from his time teaching English at universities in Shenyang and Beijing from 1981 to 1983.[4] He has held a variety of diplomatic posts throughout his career, beginning with positions as an economic officer at the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv and Embassy of the United States in Hanoi.[4] While in Hanoi, he worked to complete and implement a trade agreement between the United States and Vietnam.[3] Forden served two stints at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing prior to his service as chargé d'affaires, from 1995 to 1998 and then again from 2007 to 2011.[2]

In 2002, Forden took a position as the head of mission at the American Institute in Taiwan Kaohsiung Branch Office, where he served until 2005.[3] He subsequently served as the deputy director of the State Department's China and Mongolia Affairs Office from 2005 to 2007.[2] In 2015, Forden was named the 15th deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan, a position he held until 2018.[4][5]

Forden returned to Beijing in 2018 to serve as the United States' deputy chief of mission to China.[2][6] In 2020, Terry Branstad, the United States ambassador to China, was asked to step down by President Donald Trump, so that Branstad could assist with Trump's presidential campaign.[7] To replace him, Forden was appointed to the post of Chargé d'affaires, where he currently serves.[4]

Ambassador to Cambodia[edit]

On June 22, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Forden to be the next ambassador to Cambodia.[1] His nomination was returned to Biden on January 3, 2023, as no action was taken on it for the rest of the year.[8]

President Biden renominated Forden the same day. His nomination is pending before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Forden is married to Hui-chuan Chi (紀惠娟), a native of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[3] They have three children.[4] He speaks Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Deputy Chief of Mission Robert W. Forden". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "New Chief of AIT Kaohsiung Branch Robert W. Forden to Assume Duties". American Institute in Taiwan. August 6, 2002. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Chargé d'Affaires Robert W. Forden". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "曾派駐台北 谷立言接任AIT副處長 | 政治 | 要聞 | 聯合新聞網" (in Chinese). June 24, 2018. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "China vows 'forceful countermeasures' over U.S. sanctions". Star Tribune. Associated Press. December 9, 2020. pp. A4. Retrieved March 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Atwood, Kylie; Westcott, Ben; Culver, David; Collins, Kaitlan (September 15, 2020). "US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad stepping down following Trump campaign ask". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "PN2270 - Nomination of Robert William Forden for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  9. ^ "PN57 — Robert William Forden — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024)". US Congress. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Terry Branstad
as Ambassador
 United States Chargé d'affaires
to China
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy director of the
American Institute in Taiwan
2015–2018 		Succeeded by
Raymond Greene
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