Born in Uttar Pradesh state in India, Singh moved to the US with her parents when she was a child.
Indian American lawyer Manisha Singh has been appointed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. The US Senate confirmed the nomination of 27 Trump nominees including Singh on Thursday.
Singh will replace Charles Rivkin, who resigned following the swearing in of the new administration. The position was left vacant after the resignation of Rivkin.
Singh, who is currently the Chief Counsel, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), was the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy and Programs in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs.
During her tenure as the Deputy Secretary, she was responsible for developing and promoting trade policy within the foreign policy context.
She also has experience serving as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, during which she dealt with various issues related to the US international organization missions in New York, Geneva, Paris, Vienna, and Rome.
Before joining the administration, she served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the Republican staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2003-2007), working for Chairman/Ranking Member Senator Richard Lugar.
There, she was responsible for international trade, economic and development matters, including treaties, free trade agreements, OPIC and WTO issues.
Born in Uttar Pradesh state in India, Singh moved to the US with her parents when she was a child. Her father was a professor with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences extension.
Her educational background includes earning a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Florida College of Law at the age of 22 and completing a Certificate at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with honors at the University of Miami at the age of 19.
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She completed a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Legal Studies, with concentration in international trade, at the American University Washington College of Law. While completing this degree, she worked in the Office of General Counsel at the United States International Trade Commission.
After law school, she served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Edward F. Threadgill, Jr., then Chief Judge of the State of Florida Second District Court of Appeal.
“If confirmed, I would work closely with my counterparts to use our full range of instruments to partner with those who work with us and to enact serious consequences against global bad actors. We must make sure that economic resources are fully employed as carrots and sticks in the interest of American prosperity and stability,†she had said after the administration nominated her for the post.