Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong (2011-2014)
Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong was appointed by President Nguyen Minh Triet as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the United States of America in early 2011. He has also been accredited to the title of Senior Ambassador – the highest rank for a Vietnamese career diplomat. He presented his Credentials to President Barack Obama in July 2011.
From 2008 to 2011, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong was Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of relations of Vietnam with European countries and Public Diplomacy. He was also the chief negotiator in charge of relations between Vietnam and the Vatican.
From 2007 to 2008, he was Director-General, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was later appointed as the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs.
From 2005 to 2007, he served as Deputy Director-General, Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation, Head of Political and Security Section of the APEC Viet Nam Secretariat when Vietnam was host of APEC in 2006.
From 1981 to 2005, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong was an officer at the China Department and researcher at the Institute of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this time, he also served in the Vietnam People's Army from 1983 to 1985.
During his 30-year career, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong was posted twice to Vietnam’s missions abroad, as Minister Counselor, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Vietnam in Ottawa, Canada from 2002 to 2005 and as Second Secretary at the Embassy of Vietnam in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China from 1990 to 1993.
Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong graduated from the University of Foreign Affairs, Viet Nam (1976 - 1981) and earned an MA in International Relations at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA (1996 - 1997). Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong also conducted studies on public administration at the Maxwell School of Public Administration, Syracuse University in 1998. He also participated in the Vietnam Executive Leadership Program at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 2009.
Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong is married and has a daughter and a son. He is fluent in English./.
