On April 15, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Richard Lee Buangan as U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia. On April 25, 2022, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee received the nomination.
Richard Lee Buangan of California, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs at the State Department. Before that, Buangan served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State. Earlier in his career, Buangan was assigned as Managing Director for International Media in the Bureau of Public Affairs as the Public Affairs Officer of the then-U.S. Consulate General, Jerusalem, and Deputy Press Attaché and then as Embassy Spokesperson of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Buangan also served as a staff officer in the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State and held overseas assignments in Paris, France, and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Buangan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Edward’s University, Austin, Texas. He is the recipient of multiple performance awards from the State Department. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, and Spanish.
