Brent Christensen, the newly appointed United States ambassador to Bangladesh, has reached Dhaka.

This marks Christensen’s return to Bangladesh, having previously served as political and economic counselor at the US Embassy from 2019 to 2021.

His appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary was announced by US President Donald Trump in September last year, and he received Senate approval last month — two days after the US embassy confirmed his swearing-in as ambassador.

A post on the embassy’s official Facebook page welcomed Christensen.

“I am thrilled to return to Bangladesh, a country I know so well. I am excited to lead a great team at Embassy Dhaka, Americans and locally employed staff alike, to enhance US-Bangladesh relations, advance President Trump’s agenda, and work hard every day to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” Christensen was quoted in the post.

Christensen has succeeded Peter Haas as Dhaka’s 18th US ambassador. Haas served from March 2022 to April 2024 and retired on Sept 27, 2024. In his absence, Tracey Ann Jacobson had acted as the chargé d’affaires.

Christensen last served as foreign policy advisor at the US Strategic Command from August 2022 to January this year, providing guidance on the international implications of US strategic deterrence missions.

With over two decades of diplomatic experience, he has held key positions in Washington and abroad, including deputy director of the Regional Security and Arms Transfers Bureau, special assistant to the special representative for North Korea policy, and Pearson Fellow in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Asia-Pacific subcommittee.

He has also served in US embassies in Manila, San Salvador, Riyadh and Ho Chi Minh City.

Christensen is a distinguished graduate of the National War College (Master’s in National Security Strategy, 2022), holds a Master’s in statistics from Texas A&M University, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics and management from Rice University.