Mark William Lippert (born February 28, 1973) is an American diplomat who worked as the vice president for international affairs at Boeing from 2017 to 2020.

From August 2007 until June 2008, he served about a year[9] in what had been scheduled as a nine-month tour of duty in Iraq as an intelligence officer with the Navy SEALs.

[11] After he returned from Iraq, Lippert served as a senior foreign policy advisor to then-Senator Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

[17] There was speculation surrounding Lippert's resignation that he was pushed to leave due to significant disagreements with General Jones, especially with respect to the troop surge.

[18] Lippert was succeeded by Denis McDonough, who would go on to later serve as Deputy National Security Advisor, then White House Chief of Staff.

Lippert had originally recruited McDonough to serve as then-Senator Obama's foreign policy advisor during his 2007 deployment to Iraq.

[19] After completing his active duty with the Navy, Lippert was nominated by President Obama in October 2011 to succeed General Wallace "Chip" Gregson as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs.

Stars and Stripes reported that Lippert "played a key role in DOD's push to deepen defense ties with Asian nations as the Pentagon implements a new strategy aimed at building U.S. influence in Asia ... and has transformed our relationship in the Pacific.

Yonhap reported that at the ceremony, U.S. President Barack Obama made a "surprise appearance ... in a show of his closeness and friendship with the new envoy.

"[27] At the end of his term Michael Green called Lippert "the best U.S. envoy to date" in an opinion piece for the JoongAng Daily His tenure in Seoul was widely praised in the U.S. and in Korea.

"[28] The top Asia advisor in the George W. Bush White House stated "Ambassador Mark Lippert leaves Seoul as the most popular U.S.

In November 2016, the Lipperts had a daughter, Caroline Saehee, also given a Korean middle name by the Saju process meaning "clean and hopeful life".

At about 7:40 a.m. on March 5, 2015, Lippert was attacked by a knife-wielding man at a restaurant attached to Sejong Center in downtown Seoul, where he was scheduled to give a speech at a meeting of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation.

[31] He inflicted wounds on Lippert's left arm as well as a four-inch cut on the right side of the ambassador's face, requiring 80 stitches.

[30] Kim has a record of militant Korean nationalist activism; he attacked the Japanese ambassador to South Korea in 2010 and was sentenced to a three-year suspended prison term.

It may not have been easy to keep a calm face with blood gushing down his neck, but Lippert did and assured the people around him that he was OK. As soon as he woke up from surgery, he wrote on his Twitter account that he was doing well.

... his example shows how diplomats, too, serve on the front lines and deserve respect for the risks they run and what they can accomplish to advance our country's interests.