White House Announcement

Robert O. Blake
Nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs
Department of State

April 27, 2009

On April 24, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts: Alejandro Mayorkas, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security; Robert O. Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Department of State; Jamie M. Morin, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management, Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense; Thomas R. Lamont, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of the Army, Department of Defense; Daniel Benjamin, Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large, Department of State; Pearlie S. Reed, Assistant Secretary for Administration, United States Department of Agriculture; Craig Becker, Board Member, National Labor Relations Board; and Mark Pearce, Board Member, National Labor Relations Board.

President Obama said, "This group of impressive and distinguished individuals brings decades of service and expertise to my administration. I am confident that they will serve with the highest ideals of our nation in mind. I am honored that they have decided to join our team and look forward to working with them in the future."

Ambassador Blake is a career Foreign Service Officer.  He entered the Foreign Service in 1985. He has served at the American Embassies in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt. He also has held a number of positions at the State Department in Washington. Most recently Ambassador Blake served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and to the Republic of Maldives. Before that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India from 2003 to 2006. Ambassador Blake earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984.