Quick Facts
Biography
Michael Walter Michalak (born 1946) is the former United States Ambassador to Vietnam. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director for the US-ASEAN Business Council.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Michalak received a Bachelor of Science degree from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and Master of Science degree in Physics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He received a second master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He was the U.S. Senior Official to APEC from November 2005 until his appointment as Ambassador to Vietnam. Prior to the APEC responsibility he was Deputy Chief of Mission to the US Embassy in Tokyo. In February 2011 he assumed the position of Senior Advisor to the Private Sector Host Committee for APEC 2011.
Michalak has worked for the United States Department of State for over 30 years and is the recipient of a group award for valor for his actions in time of crisis when the United States Embassy in Islamabad was burned down.