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Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. government position
U.S. government position
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | United States |
| Assistant Secretary of State | |
| for East Asian and Pacific Affairs | |
| insignia | U.S. Department of State official seal.svg |
| insigniasize | 120px |
| insigniacaption | Seal of the United States Department of State |
| image | Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael George DeSombre.jpg |
| incumbent | Michael G. DeSombre |
| incumbentsince | October 10, 2025 |
| reports_to | Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs |
| nominator | President of the United States |
| formation | 1949 |
| inaugural | William Walton Butterworth |
| website | Official website |
| flag | Flag of the United States Assistant Secretary of State.svg |
| flagcaption | Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State |
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs The assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs is the head of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and advises the secretary of state and the under secretary for political affairs on matters relating to the area.
The Department of State established the position of assistant secretary of state for Far Eastern affairs in 1949, after the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level and after Congress increased the number of assistant secretaries of state from six to ten. On November 1, 1966, the department by administrative action changed the incumbent's designation to assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs. The Division of Far Eastern Affairs, established in 1908, was the first geographical division to be established in the Department of State.
List of assistant secretaries of state for Far Eastern affairs, 1949–1966
| # | Image | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President served under | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Portrait of W. Walton Butterworth.jpg | 60px]] | William Walton Butterworth | September 29, 1949 | July 4, 1950 | Harry S. Truman |
| 2 | [[File:Dean Rusk.jpg | 60px]] | Dean Rusk | March 28, 1950 | December 9, 1951 | Harry S. Truman |
| 3 | John Moore Allison | February 1, 1952 | April 7, 1953 | Harry S. Truman | ||
| 4 | Walter S. Robertson | April 8, 1953 | June 30, 1959 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||
| 5 | [[File:J. Graham Parsons.jpg | 60px]] | J. Graham Parsons | July 1, 1959 | March 30, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 6 | [[File:Photograph of Walter P. McConaughy 59-SO-186-VS-255-53.jpg | 60px]] | Walter P. McConaughy | April 24, 1961 | December 3, 1961 | John F. Kennedy |
| 7 | [[File:Averill Harriman September 1965 (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | W. Averell Harriman | December 4, 1961 | April 3, 1963 | John F. Kennedy |
| 8 | [[File:Roger Hilsman Department of State.jpg | 60px]] | Roger Hilsman | May 9, 1963 | March 15, 1964 | John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson |
List of assistant secretaries of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, 1966–present
| # | Image | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President served under | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | [[File:Advisors meeting at Camp David - NARA - 192569 crop William Bundy.jpg | 60px]] | William Bundy | March 16, 1964 | May 4, 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson | |||||
| 10 | Marshall Green | May 5, 1969 | May 10, 1973 | Richard Nixon | |||||||
| - | G. McMurtrie Godley | Richard Nixon | |||||||||
| 11 | [[File:Robert S. Ingersoll.jpg | 60px]] | Robert S. Ingersoll | January 8, 1974 | July 9, 1974 | Richard Nixon | |||||
| 12 | [[File:Philiphabib cropped.jpg | 60px]] | Philip Habib | September 27, 1974 | June 30, 1976 | Gerald Ford | |||||
| 13 | [[File:Arthur W Hummel Jr.jpg | 60px]] | Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. | July 12, 1976 | March 14, 1977 | Gerald Ford | |||||
| 14 | [[File:Holbrooke-Amtsfoto 1-293x400.jpg | 60px]] | Richard Holbrooke | March 31, 1977 | January 13, 1981 | Jimmy Carter | |||||
| 15 | [[File:John H. Holdridge.jpg | 60px]] | John H. Holdridge | May 28, 1981 | December 9, 1982 | Ronald Reagan | |||||
| 16 | [[File:Paul Wolfowitz (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Paul Wolfowitz | December 22, 1982 | March 12, 1986 | Ronald Reagan | |||||
| 17 | [[File:Gaston Sigur Official Photograph.jpg | 60px]] | Gaston J. Sigur, Jr. | March 12, 1986 | February 21, 1989 | Ronald Reagan | |||||
| - | [[File:Richard L. Armitage.jpeg | 60px]] | Richard Armitage | George H. W. Bush | |||||||
| 18 | [[File:Richard Solomon (27775467371).jpg | 60px]] | Richard H. Solomon | June 23, 1989 | July 10, 1992 | George H. W. Bush | |||||
| 19 | William Clark, Jr. | July 10, 1992 | April 23, 1993 | George H. W. Bush | |||||||
| 20 | [[File:Winston Lord.jpg | 60px]] | Winston Lord | April 23, 1993 | February 18, 1997 | Bill Clinton | |||||
| 21 | [[File:Stanley O Roth.jpg | 60px]] | Stanley O. Roth | August 5, 1997 | January 20, 2001 | Bill Clinton | |||||
| 22 | [[File:James A. Kelly, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.jpg | 60px]] | James A. Kelly | May 1, 2001 | January 31, 2005 | George W. Bush | |||||
| - | Evans J.R. Revere (acting) | February 1, 2005 | April 8, 2005 | George W. Bush | |||||||
| 23 | [[File:2006 0922 chris hill.jpg | 60px]] | Christopher R. Hill | April 8, 2005 | April 21, 2009 | George W. Bush and Barack Obama | |||||
| 24 | [[File:Kurt M. Campbell.jpg | 60px]] | Kurt M. Campbell | June 2, 2009 | February 8, 2013 | Barack Obama | |||||
| 25 | [[File:Daniel Russel.jpg | 60px]] | Daniel R. Russel | July 12, 2013 | March 8, 2017 | Barack Obama and Donald Trump | |||||
| - | [[File:Susan Thornton 2016.jpg | 60px]] | Susan Thornton (acting) | March 9, 2017 | July 7, 2018 | Donald Trump | |||||
| - | [[File:W. Patrick Murphy official photo (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | W. Patrick Murphy (acting) | July 2018 | June 2019 | Donald Trump | |||||
| 26 | [[File:David R. Stilwell official photo (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | David R. Stilwell | June 20, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump | |||||
| - | [[File:Ambassador-Sung-Kim-2020.jpg | 60px]] | Sung Kim (acting) | January 20, 2021 | url=https://www.state.gov/biographies/sung-kim/ | archive-url=https://archive.today/20210618045033/https://www.state.gov/biographies/sung-kim/ | url-status= | archive-date=June 18, 2021 | publisher=U.S. Department of State | title= Sung Kim, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs }} | Joe Biden |
| - | [[File:Dir-moy-portrait-high-resolution-1469x2073.jpg | 60px]] | Kin W. Moy (acting) | June 15, 2021 | September 24, 2021 | Joe Biden | |||||
| 27 | [[File:Dan Kritenbrink official portrait (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Daniel Kritenbrink | title=Daniel J. Kritenbrink | url=https://www.state.gov/biographies/daniel-j-kritenbrink/ | access-date=September 28, 2021 | website=United States Department of State | language=en-US}} | January 17, 2025 | Joe Biden | |
| - | [[File:US Ambassador to Thailand Sean-ONeill.jpg | 60px]] | Sean O'Neill (acting) | January 20, 2025 | July 18, 2025 | Donald Trump | |||||
| - | [[File:Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the United States Mission to the Republic of Korea Y. Kevin Kim.jpg | 60px]] | Y. Kevin Kim (acting) | July 18, 2025 | October 10, 2025 | Donald Trump | |||||
| 28 | [[File:Michael DeSombre 2025 portrait.jpg | 60px]] | Michael G. DeSombre | October 10, 2025 | Present | Donald Trump |
References
References
- "Assistant Secretaries of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs".
- Butterworth was initially appointed as "Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs." On March 20, 1950, his title was changed to "Assistant Secretary of State for Japanese Affairs."
- Initially commissioned during a recess of the Senate. He was later confirmed and re-commissioned on March 5, 1962.
- Godley was never commissioned and President Nixon withdrew his nomination before the Senate acted upon it.
- "John Herbert Holdridge - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
- Nomination withdrawn.
- (February 28, 2005). "BIOGRAPHY: Revere, Evans J.R. Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs". [[U. S. Department of State]].
- Griffiths, Brent D.. (2018-06-30). "Career diplomat Thornton to leave State Department".
- "Sung Kim, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs". [[U.S. Department of State]].
- "Daniel J. Kritenbrink".
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