Chris Castro Assumes Duties As New Chief of AIT Kaohsiung Branch Office

PR0810E | Date: 2008-03-04

Chris Castro took up his duties as the Chief of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Kaohsiung Branch Office on March 4, 2008.

Mr. Castro entered the Foreign Service in August 1988.  His overseas assignments have included Shanghai, China; Oslo, Norway, and the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels Belgium.

In the U.S., Mr. Castro's most recent assignment was as Special Assistant to Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage and then to Mr. Armitage's successor, Deputy Secretary Robert B. Zoellick.  He has also served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Foreign Assistance, as Country Officer for the Philippines, as Political Officer at the U.S. Mission to the UN in New York, and as staff assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Mr. Castro has received three State Department Superior Honor Awards, two Meritorious Honor Awards and has participated in four group Superior Honor Awards.

Mr. Castro was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  He graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor's Degree in International Politics and then received a Georgetown University fellowship to pursue a year of graduate studies at National Chengchi University in Taiwan.  Mr. Castro obtained a Master's Degree in National Security Strategy from the U.S. National War College, receiving distinguished graduate honors.