Christian Whiton is an advisor to the transition at the Department of State and a senior advisor in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Prior to rejoining the State Department, Mr. Whiton was the media sherpa on the presidential transition for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation process. Mr. Whiton was also a media surrogate for the Trump-Pence campaign during 2016.

From 2009 until 2016, Mr. Whiton was a principal at DC International Advisory.

Mr. Whiton previously served as a State Department official during the George W. Bush Administration from 2003-2009, first as a special advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, and then as the deputy special envoy for North Korean human rights issues. Mr. Whiton advised the Under Secretary on strategic communications and public affairs and helped establish the Office of the Special Envoy.

Before joining the State Department, Mr. Whiton worked for the corporate finance practice of KPMG LLP, where he was a senior associate, overseeing daily activities of mergers and acquisitions engagements and other financial consulting projects.

Mr. Whiton is the author of “Smart Power: Between Diplomacy and War,” and the coauthor of “Fixing Foreign Aid: the Missing Middle.” He earned undergraduate degrees in History and Economics from Tulane University. He holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Prior to reentering government, Mr. Whiton wrote and spoke frequently about business and foreign policy issues, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNBC, CNN, BBC, and other networks. His articles have been published by the Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, the Washington Post, Time, the Daily Caller, and numerous other publications.