Le Cong Phung, a career diplomat, was born on February 20, 1948 in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. He graduated from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s School of Diplomacy in Hanoi in 1971. During his 37-year career, Ambassador Le Cong Phung served in various foreign service posts in England (1974-1977), China (1978-1980), Indonesia (1984-1987) and as Ambassador to Thailand (1993-1997). He served as Assistant Foreign Minister from 1999 until 2000. From 2000 through 2004, he acted as Chairman of the Committee on Border Affairs and as Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO. He served as Deputy Foreign Minister between 2001 and 2004. Prior to becoming ambassador to the US, Phung was the First Deputy Foreign Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ second ranking official, assisting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the conduct of Vietnam’s foreign policy. He was appointed by President Nguyen Minh Triet as Ambassador to the US in October 2007. He speaks fluent English and French.