C.S. Eliot Kang

C.S. Eliot Kang (born 1962) is a career U.S. diplomat and a member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, U.S. Department of State, since January 27, 2017. He also served in that capacity between January 2009 and June 2009. Kang is one of the State Department's leading experts on nuclear affairs, including on nuclear safeguards, security, and safety matters as well as denuclearization, counterproliferation, and counter nuclear terrorism issues.

In January 22, 2017, Eliot Kang was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN). Currently, he serves as ISN's Acting Assistant Secretary. He also served in that capacity during the Presidential transition between George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He has held various senior positions in the State Department, including in the Bureau of Arms Control (now defunct), and Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

Kang has led U.S. diplomatic efforts in various international nuclear fora and multinational negotiations. In 2009, as President Obama launched his Nuclear Security Summit process, Kang—serving as ISN's Acting Assistant Secretary—co-chaired the 2009 Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) in the Hague. He delivered a personal message from the President committing his full support for the Initiative and welcoming 75 nations that joined it. While serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Affairs (2011-2016), in preparation for the February 2015 Diplomatic Conference for Convention on Nuclear Safety, President Obama accorded Kang the personal rank of ambassador. The international community, divided on the future of nuclear energy, was slow to respond to acute nuclear safey concerns that arose following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The leading international forum addressing nuclear safety, Convention on Nuclear Safety, was mired in diplomatic deadlock, as anti-nuclear energy political pressure began to build, especially in Europe. Leading the U.S. delegation to the Diplomatic Conference, Kang secured the swift adoption of a consensus approach to resolving the deadlock. The compromise made possible the adoption of the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety, a milestone in the ongoing international efforts to improve nuclear safety as nuclear energy remains viable but continues to be controversial.

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