Michael Kleine is a career Foreign Service Officer with over twenty years of experience in the U.S. Department of State. Michael Kleine in June 2021 completed a three-year tour as Consul General in Melbourne. He worked previously in Laos, where he served as Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission; in South Korea, where he led Embassy efforts to ratify the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement; Kosovo, where he supported the establishment of democratic institutions in post-war Kosovo; and Vietnam, where he was among the first to work in the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Before joining the diplomatic corps, Michael practiced law in Washington, D.C. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees at Duke University. He also has a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National War College in Washington.