Hanscom Smith
United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau
In office
6 July 2019 – 12 July 2022
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byKurt Tong
Succeeded byGregory May
Personal details
Born
Michael Hanscom Smith

Maine[1]
SpouseLu Ying-tsung
Alma materGeorgetown University
London School of Economics
Princeton University

Michael Hanscom Smith is a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service who had served as Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau[2] from July 2019 to July 2022. Smith has also served as Consul General in Shanghai (2014–2017), Director/Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs at the Department of State. He also served as Economic Section Chief at the Taipei Main Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT),[3][4] and team leader at the United States Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Iraqi Province of Muthanna.[5][6][7]

Education

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Princeton University, a certificate in political studies from Sciences Po in Paris and was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Japan.[5][6]

Academic career

Smith is a senior fellow at the Jackson School of Global Affairs at Yale.[8] When speaking about the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, Smith warned companies that "It's not business as usual in Hong Kong, and those companies who do business are going to have to grapple with that uncertainty for the foreseeable future."[8]

Personal life

While Consul in Shanghai, he and his same-sex partner Lu Ying-tsung also known as Eric Lu, who is from Taiwan, married in San Francisco.[2] As gay marriage is illegal in China, his marriage, as well as the marriage of British Consul General Brian Davidson to his husband, has caused a “stir.”[9] On 5 January 2022 he announced on social media the birth of their son Julian Lu Smith.[10][11] In addition to English, Smith speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, Danish, and Khmer.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Consul General Hanscom Smith".
  2. 1 2 Cheung, Tony (14 June 2019). "US consul general in Hong Kong named as Hanscom Smith, replacing Kurt Tong as Washington's top diplomat in city and Macau". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Telephone Directory - Key Officers List (PDF), United States Department of State, 2008-08-12, p. KO-31, archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-05, retrieved 2019-09-05
  4. ↑ "各單位官員列表" [Key Officers]. American Institute in Taiwan. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  5. 1 2 "Consul General Hanscom Smith". U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL IN HONG KONG & MACAU. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Hanscom Smith Announced as U.S. Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau". U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL IN HONG KONG & MACAU. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Hanscom Smith ACTING DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR THE OFFICE OF CHINESE AND MONGOLIAN AFFAIRS BUREAU OF EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS". US Department of State. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  8. 1 2 "U.S. lawmakers slam U.S. corporate executives' Hong Kong trip plans". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  9. ↑ Wong, Edward (May 3, 2016). "U.S. Diplomat's Same-Sex Marriage Causes Stir in China". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "It's a boy! US Consul General celebrates new baby with husband". The Standard. 5 January 2022.
  11. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10160074476051052&id=317451486051
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