William A. Brekke

William Brekke is the Commercial Counselor for the U.S. Commercial Service in Beijing and is responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the Service’s 140+ staff in Beijing and the four subordinate Consulates. Most recently, he directed the revitalization of the Service’s trade promotion and marketing programs throughout China. A Senior Foreign Service Officer with 30 years experience, he has served in Beijing since August 2004.

Prior to arriving in Beijing, Mr. Brekke was the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London (1999 – 2004) as well as head of the Embassy’s Emerging Technologies team, responsible for forging links between the U.S. and U.K. biotechnology and ICT industries.

Previously, Mr. Brekke spent 18 years in the Orient. From 1995-1999, he was assigned as Senior Commercial Officer to Taiwan where during his tour the Commercial Section recorded over $16 billion in export sales, more than any other U.S. mission worldwide. Early in 1999, Mr. Brekke’s efforts in opening the Taiwan telecommunications market to over $1 billion of U.S. investment were singled out by the Secretary of State as a model of successful trade diplomacy for all U.S. trade missions.

Prior to assuming his position in Taiwan, Mr. Brekke was Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. There he was instrumental in developing U.S. Government and private sector support for financing infrastructure projects in China and Southeast Asia. Mr. Brekke served in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 1987 to 1991. Earlier, while stationed in Singapore, he was the Regional Director for the USDOC’s Asian marketing program.

Mr. Brekke holds a BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and an international MBA from the University of South Carolina. Mr. Brekke worked for a private firm in Germany prior to joining the USDOC.