diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/README.md b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/README.md
index e1d78b774450d..493168fa2689a 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/README.md
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/README.md
@@ -537,6 +537,8 @@ Breaking this down, it means that if the endpoint exposes private access (via `E
 
 If the endpoint does not expose private access (via `EndpointAccess.PUBLIC`) **or** the VPC does not contain private subnets, the function will not be provisioned within the VPC.
 
+If your use-case requires control over the IAM role that the KubeCtl Handler assumes, a custom role can be passed through the ClusterProps (as `kubectlLambdaRole`) of the EKS Cluster construct. 
+
 #### Cluster Handler
 
 The `ClusterHandler` is a set of Lambda functions (`onEventHandler`, `isCompleteHandler`) responsible for interacting with the EKS API in order to control the cluster lifecycle. To provision these functions inside the VPC, set the `placeClusterHandlerInVpc` property to `true`. This will place the functions inside the private subnets of the VPC based on the selection strategy specified in the [`vpcSubnets`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/api/latest/docs/@aws-cdk_aws-eks.Cluster.html#vpcsubnetsspan-classapi-icon-api-icon-experimental-titlethis-api-element-is-experimental-it-may-change-without-noticespan) property.
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/cluster.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/cluster.ts
index 2c762ab666327..3f78399b6a8e8 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/cluster.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/cluster.ts
@@ -117,6 +117,15 @@ export interface ICluster extends IResource, ec2.IConnectable {
    */
   readonly kubectlPrivateSubnets?: ec2.ISubnet[];
 
+  /**
+   * An IAM role that can perform kubectl operations against this cluster.
+   *
+   * The role should be mapped to the `system:masters` Kubernetes RBAC role.
+   *
+   * This role is directly passed to the lambda handler that sends Kube Ctl commands to the cluster.
+   */
+  readonly kubectlLambdaRole?: iam.IRole;
+
   /**
    * An AWS Lambda layer that includes `kubectl`, `helm` and the `aws` CLI.
    *
@@ -271,6 +280,18 @@ export interface ClusterAttributes {
    */
   readonly kubectlRoleArn?: string;
 
+  /**
+   * An IAM role that can perform kubectl operations against this cluster.
+   *
+   * The role should be mapped to the `system:masters` Kubernetes RBAC role.
+   *
+   * This role is directly passed to the lambda handler that sends Kube Ctl commands
+   * to the cluster.
+   * @default - if not specified, the default role created by a lambda function will
+   * be used.
+   */
+  readonly kubectlLambdaRole?: iam.IRole;
+
   /**
    * Environment variables to use when running `kubectl` against this cluster.
    * @default - no additional variables
@@ -702,6 +723,14 @@ export interface ClusterProps extends ClusterOptions {
    * @default NODEGROUP
    */
   readonly defaultCapacityType?: DefaultCapacityType;
+
+
+  /**
+   * The IAM role to pass to the Kubectl Lambda Handler.
+   *
+   * @default - Default Lambda IAM Execution Role
+   */
+  readonly kubectlLambdaRole?: iam.IRole;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -771,6 +800,7 @@ abstract class ClusterBase extends Resource implements ICluster {
   public abstract readonly clusterSecurityGroup: ec2.ISecurityGroup;
   public abstract readonly clusterEncryptionConfigKeyArn: string;
   public abstract readonly kubectlRole?: iam.IRole;
+  public abstract readonly kubectlLambdaRole?: iam.IRole;
   public abstract readonly kubectlEnvironment?: { [key: string]: string };
   public abstract readonly kubectlSecurityGroup?: ec2.ISecurityGroup;
   public abstract readonly kubectlPrivateSubnets?: ec2.ISubnet[];
@@ -1077,6 +1107,18 @@ export class Cluster extends ClusterBase {
    */
   public readonly kubectlRole?: iam.IRole;
 
+  /**
+   * An IAM role that can perform kubectl operations against this cluster.
+   *
+   * The role should be mapped to the `system:masters` Kubernetes RBAC role.
+   *
+   * This role is directly passed to the lambda handler that sends Kube Ctl commands to the cluster.
+   * @default - if not specified, the default role created by a lambda function will
+   * be used.
+   */
+
+  public readonly kubectlLambdaRole?: iam.IRole;
+
   /**
    * Custom environment variables when running `kubectl` against this cluster.
    */
@@ -1195,6 +1237,7 @@ export class Cluster extends ClusterBase {
     this.prune = props.prune ?? true;
     this.vpc = props.vpc || new ec2.Vpc(this, 'DefaultVpc');
     this.version = props.version;
+    this.kubectlLambdaRole = props.kubectlLambdaRole ? props.kubectlLambdaRole : undefined;
 
     this.tagSubnets();
 
@@ -1867,6 +1910,7 @@ class ImportedCluster extends ClusterBase {
   public readonly clusterArn: string;
   public readonly connections = new ec2.Connections();
   public readonly kubectlRole?: iam.IRole;
+  public readonly kubectlLambdaRole?: iam.IRole;
   public readonly kubectlEnvironment?: { [key: string]: string; } | undefined;
   public readonly kubectlSecurityGroup?: ec2.ISecurityGroup | undefined;
   public readonly kubectlPrivateSubnets?: ec2.ISubnet[] | undefined;
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/kubectl-provider.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/kubectl-provider.ts
index b5bd8ed51b876..0e5db3c6a51e3 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/kubectl-provider.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/lib/kubectl-provider.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ export class KubectlProvider extends NestedStack {
       description: 'onEvent handler for EKS kubectl resource provider',
       memorySize,
       environment: cluster.kubectlEnvironment,
+      role: cluster.kubectlLambdaRole ? cluster.kubectlLambdaRole : undefined,
 
       // defined only when using private access
       vpc: cluster.kubectlPrivateSubnets ? cluster.vpc : undefined,
diff --git a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/test/cluster.test.ts b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/test/cluster.test.ts
index 63a17d9c5d64d..b8b9c91042f32 100644
--- a/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/test/cluster.test.ts
+++ b/packages/@aws-cdk/aws-eks/test/cluster.test.ts
@@ -2202,6 +2202,42 @@ describe('cluster', () => {
       },
     });
 
+  });
+
+  test('kubectl provider passes iam role environment to kube ctl lambda', () => {
+
+    const { stack } = testFixture();
+
+    const kubectlRole = new iam.Role(stack, 'KubectlIamRole', {
+      assumedBy: new iam.ServicePrincipal('lambda.amazonaws.com'),
+    });
+
+    // using _ syntax to silence warning about _cluster not being used, when it is
+    const cluster = new eks.Cluster(stack, 'Cluster1', {
+      version: CLUSTER_VERSION,
+      prune: false,
+      endpointAccess: eks.EndpointAccess.PRIVATE,
+      kubectlLambdaRole: kubectlRole,
+    });
+
+    cluster.addManifest('resource', {
+      kind: 'ConfigMap',
+      apiVersion: 'v1',
+      data: {
+        hello: 'world',
+      },
+      metadata: {
+        name: 'config-map',
+      },
+    });
+
+    // the kubectl provider is inside a nested stack.
+    const nested = stack.node.tryFindChild('@aws-cdk/aws-eks.KubectlProvider') as cdk.NestedStack;
+    expect(nested).toHaveResourceLike('AWS::Lambda::Function', {
+      Role: {
+        Ref: 'referencetoStackKubectlIamRole02F8947EArn',
+      },
+    });
 
   });