Manisha Singh, an Indian American lawyer, was sworn in as assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs on Friday, returning to head a department where she had once served in a junior position.
Ms Singh, 45, born in Uttar Pradesh, is the first woman appointed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.
She was sworn in by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
She previously served as chief counsel and senior advisor to US Senator from Alaska Dan Sullivan. He was himself a former assistant secretary in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs.
Ms Singh, who is fluent in Hindi, also previously served as the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs.
She is one of a growing group of Indian Americans tapped by President Donald Trump for senior positions in his administration, starting with Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN. Haley is the first member from the community to serve in the cabinet.
Her political career began as an staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Before that she was a lawyer, she was in the international law practice of a law firm.
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