WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced he has appointed Alaina B. Teplitz to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Administration.

Alaina B. Teplitz, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration
Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. Most recently, she has served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives since 2018. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Nepal from 2015-2018. She joined the State Department in 1991 and is the recipient of numerous Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. Focused on laying the foundation for successful 21st century American diplomacy, Ms. Teplitz held the Assistant Secretary-ranked position of Director of the Under Secretary for Management’s Office of Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation (M/PRI) at the Department of State from 2012-2015. Under her leadership, M/PRI found innovative ways to reform our bureaucracy and improve the way that our diplomatic service operates. Ms. Teplitz championed efforts to improve knowledge management, data use, and risk management.

Prior to leading M/PRI, Ms. Teplitz was Minister Counselor for Management at U.S. Embassy Kabul from 2011-2012. She managed a team providing oversight for U.S. Government Chief of Mission civilian activities in Afghanistan, and planning for the impact of the eventual military force reduction. Ms. Teplitz also served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Near East and South and Central Asia Bureau’s joint executive office from 2009-2011, where she handled the South and Central Asia portfolio, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ms. Teplitz was the Director of the Management Training Division at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute from 2007-2009. Previous assignments include Management Counselor in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Deputy Director of the Joint Administrative Services supporting three U.S. Missions – the U.S. Mission to NATO, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, and the Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium – in Brussels, Belgium. Her previous posts also include: Ulaanbaatar, Tirana, and Sydney. Ms. Teplitz holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She is married and has two sons.