Indian-American Richard Verma confirmed for top position at US State Department

Washington:

The US Senate has confirmed Indian-American attorney, diplomat and senior executive Richard Verma as Assistant Secretary of State, Management and Resources, a position normally seen as the CEO of the powerful State Department in the US government.

Mr Verma, 54, was confirmed Thursday by a vote of 67 to 26.

He was the US Ambassador to India from January 16, 2015 to January 20, 2017 and is currently Chief Legal Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at Mastercard.

During the previous Obama administration, Verma served as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.

Earlier in his career, he was National Security Advisor to US Senator Harry Reid and was a Democratic Whip, Minority Leader, and then Majority Leader of the US Senate.

Richard Verma was Vice Chairman of Asia Group, Partner and Senior Counselor at Steptoe and Johnson LLP and Senior Counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group.

He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where he served as a Judge Advocate.

Born in 1968 to an Indian immigrant family, Mr. Verma grew up in Pennsylvania. He attended private college on a US Air Force scholarship. He earned a BS from Lehigh University, a JD cum laude from American University, an LLM with honors from Georgetown University Law Center, and a PhD from Georgetown University.

He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal from the State Department, the International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Meritorious Service Medal from the United States Air Force.

Mr. Verma has been appointed to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Council and is a former member of the Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism.

He serves as a trustee of the Ford Foundation and serves on numerous other boards, including the National Endowment for Democracy and Lehigh University.