Michael DeSombre

Michael G. DeSombre was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs on October 10, 2025. Prior to October 2025, Assistant Secretary DeSombre was a partner at the international law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell where he led the Asian Mergers and Acquisition Practice as well as the Korea and Southeast Asian Practice of the firm. Assistant Secretary DeSombre is recognized as one of the preeminent mergers and acquisitions and private equity lawyers in the world. Assistant Secretary DeSombre resided in Asia for over 25 years. From 2020-2021, Assistant Secretary DeSombre served as the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand.

A native of Illinois, he received a B.A. in Quantitative Economics, and an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. He graduated from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1995. Mr. DeSombre is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and is conversational in Korean and Japanese.