Manisha Singh (born 1971) is an American attorney and government official who served as

assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs is an office in the United States Department of State responsible for managing the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. It was known as the Assistant Secretary of State for Ec ...

in the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

until January 20, 2021. She previously also served as acting

under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment is an undersecretary position within the United States Department of State. The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment serves as senior economic advi ...

. In April 2020, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate Singh to be the next United States representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with the rank of ambassador. On January 3, 2021, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Early life and education

Singh was born in Pantnagar, India, and raised in

Lake Alfred, Florida Lake Alfred is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was approximately 6,374 at the 2020 US census. History The city was established soon a ...

, where her father was a professor at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. She has one sister. While attending

Auburndale High School Auburndale High School is a four-year public high school located in Auburndale, Florida, United States, and a part of Polk County Public Schools. The school serves about 1,800 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In 2012, construction wa ...

, Singh met Congressman

Andy Ireland Andrew Poysell Ireland (August 23, 1930 – October 20, 2024) was an American banker and politician from Florida. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993. He served eight terms, first as a Democrat ...

during a school trip. Singh earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. She then earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Fredric G. Levin College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

at the

and

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

in International Legal Studies from the

Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northw ...

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Career

In the private sector, she worked as a lawyer at

Reed Smith Reed Smith LLP is a global law firm with more than 1,500 lawyers in 30 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. History Reed Smith was founded in Pittsburgh in 1877 by Philander C. Knox and James H. Reed. The tw ...

and

Squire Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with over 40 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C.–based Patton Boggs. It is one of the largest law firms in ...

. Singh served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs during the Bush administration. In addition, she was an executive director at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in the International Government Relations group. Manisha Singh was designated Acting

Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment is an undersecretary position within the United States Department of State. The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment serves as senior economic advi ...

Shield Ombudsperson by the President in September 2018 until Keith J. Krach was confirmed as Under Secretary of State. She also serves as the Foreign Affairs Sous Sherpa for the

45th G7 summit The 45th G7 summit was held on 24–26 August 2019, in Biarritz, France. In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued within the ...

. Unanimously confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as assistant secretary of State in November 2017, she leads a team of over 200 employees in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, which also serves as the home bureau for economic officers posted in embassies around the world. She is the first woman appointed to the role and is responsible for advancing American prosperity, entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. She was the senior fellow for international economic affairs at the

American Foreign Policy Council The American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. Founded in 1982 and based in Washington, D.C., its foreign and d ...

as well as a term member at the

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Assistant secretary of state

In September 2018, during a

congressional hearing A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure uniqu ...

and in her role as assistant secretary of state, Singh reminded

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, that if

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

did not achieve compliance with international chemical weapons laws by the November deadline, the government would not hesitate to implement the extreme sanctions announced in August.

References

External links

Biography at State Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Manisha 1971 births Living people People from Uttarakhand University of Miami alumni Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Washington College of Law alumni 21st-century American lawyers First Trump administration personnel United States assistant secretaries of state Indian emigrants to the United States