When Vinai Thummalapally was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Belize in 2009, he became the first Indian American to serve as a U.S. ambassador. His appointment was followed by those of Atul Keshap, who served in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Brunei, and later as the top U.S. diplomat for India; Rachna Korhonen, ambassador to Mali; and Puneet Talwar, ambassador to Morocco. Together, they established the diaspora as a visible presence in American diplomacy and reflected the growing diversity of the nation’s diplomatic leadership.
