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Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Position in the United States Department of State
Position in the United States Department of State
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | United States |
| Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs | |
| insignia | US Department of State official seal.svg |
| insigniasize | 120 |
| insigniacaption | Seal of the United States Department of State |
| flag | Flag of the United States Department of State.svg |
| flagsize | 170 |
| flagcaption | Flag of the United States Department of State |
| department | United States Department of State |
| style | Madam Under Secretary |
| image | File:Under Secretary Allison Hooker.jpg |
| incumbent | Allison Hooker |
| incumbentsince | June 5, 2025 |
| appointer | The president |
| appointer_qualified | with Senate advice and consent |
| termlength | Appointed |
| reports_to | The secretary of state |
| formation | August 1959 |
| salary | $183,300 annually (Executive Schedule III) |
| inaugural | Robert D. Murphy |
| website |
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
The under secretary of state for political affairs is currently the fourth-ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the secretary, the deputy secretary, and the deputy secretary of state for management and resources.
The under secretary of state for political affairs is a career Foreign Service officer. This makes the officeholder the highest-ranking member of the United States Foreign Service. The under secretary serves as the day-to-day manager of overall regional and bilateral policy issues, and oversees the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere and International Organizations. The under secretary is advised by assistant secretaries of the geographic bureaus, who guide U.S. diplomatic missions within their regional jurisdiction.
The political bureaus were first overseen in 1949 by a deputy under secretary for political affairs. Prior to the creation of the position of under secretary of state for political affairs in August 1959, the deputy under secretary for political affairs assisted the secretary and under secretary of state in the formulation and conduct of U.S. foreign policy. After August 1959, the deputy under secretary of political affairs served as a focal point for interdepartmental relations, especially those dealing with politico-military issues. During 1969, the department discontinued the position and created a new Bureau for Politico-Military Affairs, which exists today as the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs under another under secretary.
List of under secretaries of state for political affairs
| # | Image | Name | State of residency | Appointment | Entry on duty | Termination of appointment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Robert Daniel Murphy.jpg | 100px]] | Robert D. Murphy | Wisconsin | August 12, 1959 | August 14, 1959 | December 3, 1959 | ||||||
| 2 | [[File:Livingston T. Merchant.jpg | 100px]] | Livingston T. Merchant | District of Columbia | December 1, 1959 | December 4, 1959 | January 31, 1961 | ||||||
| 3 | [[File:Portrait of George C. McGhee.jpg | 100px]] | George C. McGhee | Texas | November 29, 1961 | December 4, 1961 | March 27, 1963 | ||||||
| 4 | [[File:William Averell Harriman.jpg | 100px]] | W. Averell Harriman | New York | April 4, 1963 | April 4, 1963 | March 17, 1965 | ||||||
| 5 | [[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F026365-0001, Bonn, Bundeskanzler empfängt USA-Staatssekretär.jpg | 100px]] | Eugene V. Rostow | Connecticut | October 13, 1966 | October 14, 1966 | January 20, 1969 | ||||||
| 6 | [[File:Portrait of U. Alexis Johnson.jpg | 100px]] | U. Alexis Johnson | California | February 7, 1969 | February 7, 1969 | February 1, 1973 | ||||||
| 7 | [[File:WilliamJPorter.jpg | 100px]] | William J. Porter | Massachusetts | February 2, 1973 | February 2, 1973 | February 18, 1974 | ||||||
| 8 | [[File:Joseph J. Sisco in Israel 1970 III (cropped).jpg | 100px]] | Joseph J. Sisco | Maryland | February 11, 1974 | February 19, 1974 | June 30, 1976 | ||||||
| 9 | [[File:Philip Habib.jpg | 100px]] | Philip Habib | California | June 16, 1976 | July 1, 1976 | April 1, 1978 | ||||||
| 10 | [[File:Newsom 1975.png | 100px]] | David D. Newsom | California | April 13, 1978 | April 19, 1978 | February 27, 1981 | ||||||
| 11 | [[File:Walter J. Stoessel, Jr.jpg | 100px]] | Walter J. Stoessel Jr. | California | February 27, 1981 | February 28, 1981 | January 26, 1982 | ||||||
| 12 | [[File:Lawrence Eagleburger.jpg | 100px]] | Lawrence Eagleburger | Florida | February 11, 1982 | February 12, 1982 | May 1, 1984 | ||||||
| 13 | [[File:Michael Armacost 1987.jpg | 100px]] | Michael Armacost | Maryland | May 17, 1984 | May 18, 1984 | March 2, 1989 | ||||||
| 14 | [[File:Robert Kimmitt, official Treasury photo.jpg | 100px]] | Robert M. Kimmitt | Virginia | March 2, 1989 | March 2, 1989 | August 23, 1991 | ||||||
| 15 | Arnold Kanter | Virginia | October 4, 1991 | October 4, 1991 | January 20, 1993 | ||||||||
| 16 | [[File:Peter Tarnoff.GIF | 100px]] | Peter Tarnoff | New York | March 11, 1993 | March 11, 1993 | April 18, 1997 | ||||||
| 17 | [[File:ThomasRPickering.jpg | 100px]] | Thomas R. Pickering | New Jersey | May 27, 1997 | May 27, 1997 | December 31, 2000 | ||||||
| 18 | [[File:Marc Grossman US State Department portrait.jpg | 100px]] | Marc Grossman | Virginia | March 23, 2001 | March 26, 2001 | February 25, 2005 | ||||||
| 19 | [[File:Burns, R. Nicholas - Under Secretary for Political Affairs.jpg | 100px]] | R. Nicholas Burns | Massachusetts | March 18, 2005 | March 18, 2005 | February 29, 2008 | ||||||
| 20 | [[File:AmbassadorBurns.jpg | 100px]] | William J. Burns | Maryland | February 29, 2008 | May 13, 2008 | July 28, 2011 | ||||||
| - | [[File:Thomas A. Shannon Jr official photo.jpg | 100px]] | title=State Department gets some nominees, after Cruz clears his roadblock | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/02/12/state-department-gets-some-nominees-after-cruz-clears-his-roadblock/ | date=February 12, 2016 | newspaper=Washington Post}} | |||||||
| Acting | Minnesota | July 28, 2011 | July 28, 2011 | September 21, 2011 | |||||||||
| 21 | [[File:Wendy R. Sherman.jpg | 100px]] | access-date=December 29, 2011 | url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/174931.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018001437/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/174931.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 18, 2011 | title=Biography, Wendy R. Sherman, Under Secretary, Political Affairs | publisher=United States Department of State}} | Maryland | September 21, 2011 | September 21, 2011 | October 2, 2015 |
| 22 | [[File:Thomas A. Shannon Jr official photo.jpg | 100px]] | Thomas A. Shannon Jr. | Minnesota | February 2, 2016 | February 12, 2016 | June 4, 2018 | ||||||
| - | [[File:Stephen Mull US State Dept photo.jpg | 100px]] | Stephen Mull | ||||||||||
| Acting | Pennsylvania | June 5, 2018 | June 5, 2018 | August 29, 2018 | |||||||||
| 23 | [[File:David Hale official photo.jpg | 100px]] | David Hale | New Jersey | August 28, 2018 | August 30, 2018 | May 3, 2021 | ||||||
| 24 | [[File:Victoria Nuland 2021.jpg | 100px]] | Victoria Nuland | Virginia | April 29, 2021 | May 3, 2021 | March 22, 2024 | ||||||
| - | [[File:John Bass in Kyiv, June 21, 2024 (cropped).jpg | 100px]] | John R. Bass | ||||||||||
| Acting | New York | March 22, 2024 | March 22, 2024 | January 20, 2025 | |||||||||
| - | [[File:Lisa D. Kenna, U.S. Ambassador 2.jpg | 100px]] | Lisa D. Kenna | ||||||||||
| Acting | Vermont | January 20, 2025 | January 20, 2025 | June 5, 2025 | |||||||||
| 25 | [[File:Under Secretary Allison Hooker.jpg | 100px]] | Allison Hooker | Georgia | June 3, 2025 | June 5, 2025 | Incumbent |
References
References
- "Technical Difficulties".
- (January 31, 2017). "1 FAM 041 Under Secretary for Political Affairs (P)". [[U.S. Department of State]].
- (January 1, 2015). "Pay & Leave: Salaries & Wages". [[United States Office of Personnel Management]].
- {{UnitedStatesCode. 5. 5312.
- "Senior Officials". U. S. Department of State.
- "Under Secretary for Political Affairs".
- "History of the U.S. Department of State".
- "Under Secretaries of State for Political Affairs".
- (February 12, 2016). "State Department gets some nominees, after Cruz clears his roadblock". [[Washington Post]].
- "Biography, Wendy R. Sherman, Under Secretary, Political Affairs". United States Department of State.
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