US President Donald Trump on Friday nominated his close political aide, Sergio Gor as US Ambassador to India.
“For the most populous Region in the World, it is important that I have someone I can fully trust to deliver on my Agenda and help us, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Sergio will make an incredible Ambassador,” he wrote.
Sergio will also hold a role of special envoy for South and Central Asia, Trump said, if confirmed by the Senate. The region includes Pakistan and Bangladesh among other countries where the US does not have ambassadors.
The 39-year-old Tashkent-born Republican leader will be the youngest US ambassador to India and will come to New Delhi replacing Eric Garcetti who returned to California at the end of the Biden presidency.
Who Is Sergio Gor?
Sergio Gor, a relatively low-profile White House insider, has quickly become one of Donald Trump’s most trusted lieutenants. By Trump’s own account, Gor was responsible for hiring nearly 4,000 “America First Patriots” across federal departments in record time, cementing his role as a central figure in the former president’s political movement.
Gor’s rise, however, has not been without drama. Among his most vocal critics is billionaire Elon Musk, who publicly branded him a “snake” after Gor blocked Musk’s preferred candidate to head NASA following the tech mogul’s acrimonious split with Trump.
Trump, in contrast, has been effusive in his praise. “He worked on my historic presidential campaigns, published my best-selling books, and ran one of the biggest Super PACs supporting our movement,” Trump said, introducing Gor as his envoy pick to a country with which relations have reportedly cooled. “Sergio’s role as Director of Presidential Personnel has been essential to delivering on the unprecedented mandate we received from the American people.”
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, when it was part of the Soviet Union, Gor — whose original surname was Gorokhovsky — emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1999 at the age of 12, according to a Times of India report. His father, Yuri Gorokhovsky, is said to be an aviation engineer who contributed to the design of the IL-76, a Soviet military refuelling aircraft still in use by the Indian Air Force. His mother is reported to be of Israeli descent.
The family settled in Los Angeles, where Gor completed his schooling before moving to Washington, D.C., to attend George Washington University. There, just a short distance from the White House, he immersed himself in conservative politics.
His connection to Trump began during the 2020 election campaign, where he quickly earned his trust. By 2024, Gor was living near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida before moving back to Washington after being named Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel following Trump’s election victory that November.
