US President Joe Biden has nominated David Slayton Meale, currently the deputy chief of mission in Beijing, as the next US ambassador to Bangladesh, according to a statement released by the White House.

The nomination has been sent to the Senate for confirmation, it added.

Until the nomination gets the nod from the senate, Peter Haas will remain the US ambassador to Bangladesh. US ambassadors are nominated by the US president and confirmed by the Senate.

Haas has been serving as the top US diplomat in Dhaka since July 2021.

David Meale, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of minister-counselor, is currently serving as the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, where he also served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.

Prior to this role, he was deputy assistant secretary for Trade Policy and Negotiations for the Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

He also served as the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Dhaka.

He joined the foreign service in 1992.

Prior to his foreign service career, Meale held positions in corporate finance with Sprint Telecommunications.

A native of Virginia, Meale holds a MS from the National Defense University's Eisenhower School, an MBA from Tulane University, and a BA from the University of Delaware. He is the recipient of the Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission and has studied Chinese, Ukrainian, and French.