Alex Nelson Wong[1] (Chinese: 黃之瀚，born 1980) is an American government official and lawyer who is the incoming principal deputy national security advisor. He was the deputy assistant secretary for North Korea in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2017 to 2021.
Alex Wong | |
|---|---|
 Wong in 2017 | |
| United States Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Designate | |
| Assuming office January 20, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump (elect) |
| National Security Advisor | Michael Waltz |
| Succeeding | Jonathan Finer |
| Personal details | |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Education
editWong graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree with majors in English literature and French. He completed a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where he was the managing editor of the Harvard Law Review and an editor of the Harvard International Law Journal. Wong clerked for Janice Rogers Brown of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[2]
Career
editWong worked in private practice with a Washington, D.C.-based international law firm. He provided Fortune 100 clients strategic and legal advice on international trade matters, governmental investigations, and regulatory compliance.[2]
From 2007 to 2009, Wong served as Iraq rule of law advisor for the U.S. Department of State, designing and managing the department's efforts to bolster Iraq's judicial branch and anticorruption agencies.[2] Wong served as the foreign and legal policy director for the Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign. In that role, he was the campaign's chief official responsible for developing foreign, defense, intelligence, judicial, and law enforcement policy and closely advising the nominees on these matters.[2]
Wong was the foreign policy advisor and general counsel to U.S. senator Tom Cotton. He was Cotton's chief advisor on all issues related to national security, international relations, and law enforcement. He was also his legal counsel.[2]
During the first Trump administration, Wong oversaw regional and security affairs for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP), including U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. On December 1, 2017, was appointed deputy assistant secretary for North Korea in the EAP. He was dual-hatted as the deputy special representative for North Korea. In these roles, he managed all diplomatic and technical policy on North Korea in support of the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun.[2]
On November 22, 2024, Wong was chosen by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to serve as an assistant to the president and as the principal deputy national security advisor.[3][4]
References
edit- ^ "PN1592 — Alex Nelson Wong — Department of State". United States Congress. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
- ^ a b c d e f "Alex N. Wong". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Trump picks Alex Wong for deputy national security adviser". Reuters. November 22, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ Vento, Sophia (2024-11-23). "Trump names Seb Gorka, Alex Wong to be senior national security staff". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
