William Flens has assumed the role of chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Chad as of July 2025. Flens, a member of the Senior Foreign Service, previously served as deputy chief of mission in Juba, South Sudan from 2022 to 2024. Before this, he was director of the Office of Multilateral Affairs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and led the political/economic section at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon. His overseas assignments also include China, Afghanistan, Thailand, and Ethiopia.
Flens's career includes serving as special assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and working on African defense policy issues at the Department of Defense. He also held a position as a Presidential Management Fellow at Voice of America. Earlier in his career, he volunteered with the Peace Corps in Zaire and the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville.
A native of Chicago, Flens is an alumnus of both Loyola University Chicago and The Fletcher School.