Thomas E. Lersten
Thomas E. Lersten is a member of the Senior Foreign Service and currently serves as the interim Senior Official performing the duties of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment (“E”), while also leading the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs as Senior Bureau Official, covering in a dual role. E leads the U.S. Department of State’s efforts to advocate for U.S. foreign policy priorities related to economic growth, energy, agriculture, maritime affairs, and science and technology.
From August 2024 to January 2025, Mr. Lersten served as a Senior State Department Fellow for the Americas at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he advocated for U.S. businesses as a policy advisor, promoting U.S. private sector engagement and investment in the region. Prior to that, he was Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Counselor in the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States, and previously served as the Political and Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Havana. From 2018-2020 he served as the Deputy Director in the Office of Central American Affairs.
Mr. Lersten also served in the economic section in U.S. Embassy Managua. Earlier assignments include U.S. Embassy Moscow, and the Consulate General in Dubai, UAE. In Washington, he has also served as the Nicaragua Desk Officer, in addition to other positions in the Department including as a Deputy Director in the Bureau of Counterterrorism and the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. In the Economic Bureau, he served as the Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Program and worked to organize the annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2016.
He earned an M.S. in National Security Studies from the National War College, and holds a B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College, and an M.A. in International Affairs from the American University. Mr. Lersten is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.