For Immediate Release
April 27, 2021

NAPABA Congratulates Chris Lu on His Nomination for U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform

WASHINGTON – Today, as part of a slate of key national security positions, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Chris Lu to serve as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform. The position, which carries the rank of Ambassador, is responsible for overseeing the U.S. stance on ensuring that United Nations programs and activities, including for such multi-billion dollar efforts as peacekeeping and war crimes tribunals, are efficiently and properly managed.  

“NAPABA congratulates Chris Lu on his nomination to this important diplomatic position,” said A.B. Cruz III, President of NAPABA.  “Chris has been an indispensable ally for the success of AAPI’s in civic life, and his extensive experience in all three branches of government, including as only the second Asian American in history to be confirmed as a Deputy Secretary of a Cabinet department will serve the United States Mission to the U.N. tremendously.”  Lu was the recipient of APABA-DC’s 2020 Pioneer Award.

Lu is currently a Senior Strategy Advisor at FiscalNote, a D.C.-based technology company, and the Teresa A. Sullivan Practitioner Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center.  As part of decades-long career in public service, Lu was the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, from 2014 to 2017, having been confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. In this role, he served as the chief operating officer of a department with 17,000 employees and a $12 billion budget.   

During the first term of the Obama Administration, Lu served as White House Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to the President, and was a leading voice for the AAPI community as Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.  Before joining the White house, he worked for then-Senator Obama as Legislative Director and acting Chief of Staff.  He also spearheaded Obama-Biden transition planning in 2008-2009.  His government experience also includes serving as the Deputy Chief Counsel of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and law clerk to Judge Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  Lu is a graduate of Princeton University and graduate of Harvard Law School. NAPABA advocated for and strongly supported Christopher Lu’s nomination. We thank President Biden for nominating him for U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform. For more on this nomination, see today’s White House press release: President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations in National Security | The White House 

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in the largest Asian Pacific American membership organization representing the interests of approximately 50,000 legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.