Frank Lavin

Frank Lavin is a Trustee of The Asia Foundation and serves as Chair of the President’s Leadership Council. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he focuses on Asia issues and trade policy.

Lavin served as Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2005 to 2007, leading trade negotiations with China and India. He was U.S. Ambassador to Singapore from 2001 to 2005, playing a key role in negotiating the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. His earlier government service included senior roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. In the private sector, Lavin held finance and management positions in Hong Kong and Singapore with Bank of America and Citibank.

Lavin holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, master’s degrees in Chinese Language and History from Georgetown, and a master’s degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, along with an MtBA in Finance from the Wharton School. His latest book is Inside the Reagan White House and he is a columnist for Forbes magazine.