US President Joe Biden has proposed Dean R Thompson as new ambassador to Nepal who will replace Randy Berry.

“Dean R Thompson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor,” a White House statement said after his nomination on Tuesday.

The present US envoy Berry has served over three years and six months. He had presented his letter of credence to President Bidya Devi Bhandari on October 25, 2018.

Dean currently serves as the State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, and was the acting Assistant Secretary from 2020-2021.

Prior to that, according to the White House, Thompson was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Bucharest, Romania.

Thompson also was the Consul General of the US Consulate in Kolkata, India.

Among other assignments, he served as Director of the State Department’s Executive Secretariat Staff, Deputy Director of the State Department Operations Center, Director of the Operations Center Crisis Management Staff, and Deputy Director for Information Resources Management for the Executive Secretariat, according to the statement. 

This report has been updated.