W. Brent Christensen became an adjunct professor in Brigham Young University’s Political Science Department in January 2024 after 35 years in the US Foreign Service. In his last assignment in the Foreign Service, he served as the US representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada. Previously, he was director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) from 2018 to 2021. He also served as deputy director of AIT and as director of the State Department’s Office of Taiwan Coordination. He has served three assignments at the US Embassy in Beijing, as well as assignments at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, and in the US missions in Hong Kong and South Africa. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a captain in the US Air Force.
He earned an MA in East Asian studies from the George Washington University, a BA in Chinese language and literature from Brigham Young University, and a DMD degree from the Oregon Health and Science University. He has received a Presidential Meritorious Service Award, the State Department’s Charles E. Cobb Jr. Award, and honorary doctorates from the Sun Yat-sen University and Kaohsiung Medical University.
