Biden Nominates First Openly Gay Woman as US Ambassador
President Biden nominated Chantale Yokmin Wong to serve as U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank, ranking as Ambassador, making her the first openly gay woman to hold such a position, reported The Hill.
The White House announced last week plans to nominate Wong to serve as U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank, with the rank of Ambassador.
"Wong is also the first LGBTQ person of color to be nominated for an ambassador-level position, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute," reports The Hill. "Wong was appointed by former President Clinton to serve on the Board of Directors at the Asian Development Bank, where she represented the U.S. as the alternate executive director. Former President Obama later appointed her to serve as vice president for the administration and finance and chief financial officer at the Millennium Challenge Corporation."
The White House described Wong as a "leading authority in international development policy with over 30 years of experience in the multi-disciplinary field that includes finance, technology, and the environment." She has held senior appointments in the Office of Management and Budget, Treasury, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, Biden has appointed over 200 known LGBTQ people to his administration within the first 100 days of his presidency. Those appointees include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Dr. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health, who is the first openly transgender Senate-confirmed federal official.