Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs - wikipedia Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Seal of the United States Department of State Incumbent Susan Thornton Acting since March 9, 2017 Reports to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nominator President of the United States Inaugural holder William Walton Butterworth Formation 1949 Website Official website 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 last permanent Assistant Secretary was Daniel R. Russel, who left on March 8, 2017. Susan Thornton is now Acting Assistant Secretary. 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 Name Assumed office Left office President served under William Walton Butterworth September 29, 1949 July 4, 1950 Harry S. Truman Dean Rusk March 28, 1950 December 9, 1951 Harry S. Truman John Moore Allison February 1, 1952 April 7, 1953 Harry S. Truman Walter S. Robertson April 8, 1953 June 30, 1959 Dwight D. Eisenhower J. Graham Parsons July 1, 1959 March 30, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower Walter P. McConaughy April 24, 1961 December 3, 1961 John F. Kennedy W. Averell Harriman December 4, 1961 April 3, 1963 John F. Kennedy 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 Name Assumed office Left office President served under William Bundy March 16, 1964 May 4, 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson Marshall Green May 5, 1969 May 10, 1973 Richard Nixon G. McMurtrie Godley Richard Nixon Robert S. Ingersoll January 8, 1974 July 9, 1974 Richard Nixon Philip Habib September 27, 1974 June 30, 1976 Gerald Ford Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. July 12, 1976 March 14, 1977 Gerald Ford Richard Holbrooke March 31, 1977 January 13, 1981 Jimmy Carter John H. Holdridge May 28, 1981 January 10, 1983 Ronald Reagan Paul Wolfowitz December 22, 1982 March 12, 1986 Ronald Reagan Gaston J. Sigur, Jr. March 12, 1986 February 21, 1989 Ronald Reagan Richard Armitage George H.W. Bush Richard H. Solomon June 23, 1989 July 10, 1992 George H.W. Bush William Clark, Jr. July 10, 1992 April 23, 1993 George H.W. Bush Winston Lord April 23, 1993 February 18, 1997 Bill Clinton Stanley O. Roth August 5, 1997 January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton James A. Kelly May 1, 2001 January 31, 2005 George W. Bush Christopher R. Hill April 8, 2005 April 21, 2009 George W. Bush and Barack Obama Kurt M. Campbell June 2, 2009 February 8, 2013 Barack Obama Daniel R. Russel July 12, 2013 March 8, 2017 Barack Obama and Donald Trump References Jump up ^ Dexter Filkins : Nine months into Trump 's term, he still has not named an Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs... Susan Thornton, despite being rejected by the White House, has stayed on as the acting Assistant Secretary. -- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/16/rex-tillerson-at-the-breaking-point/amp October 6, 2017 Jump up ^ `` Assistant Secretaries of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs ''. Archived from the original on 23 September 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007. Jump up ^ 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. '' Jump up ^ Initially commissioned during a recess of the Senate. He was later confirmed and re-commissioned on March 5, 1962. Jump up ^ Godley was never commissioned and President Nixon withdrew his nomination before the Senate acted upon it. Jump up ^ https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/holdridge-john-herbert Jump up ^ Nomination withdrawn. United States Assistant Secretaries of State ( and Equivalent Ranks ) Reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs Reporting to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Reporting to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political - Military Affairs Reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Educational and Cultural Affairs Public Affairs Coordinator for International Information Programs Reporting to the Under Secretary for Management Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Director General of the Foreign Service Reporting to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Conflict and Stabilization Operations Coordinator for Counterterrorism ( Ambassador - at - Large ) Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Population, Refugees, and Migration Trafficking in Persons ( Ambassador - at - Large ) War Crimes Issues ( Ambassador - at - Large ) Reporting directly to the Secretary Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Executive Secretary Inspector General Legal Adviser Director of Policy Planning Chief of Protocol Global Women 's Issues ( Ambassador - at - Large ) Global AIDS Coordinator ( Ambassador - at - Large ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assistant_Secretary_of_State_for_East_Asian_and_Pacific_Affairs&oldid=805587443 '' Categories : United States Assistant Secretaries of State United States -- Asian relations United States -- Oceanian relations Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Français 日本 語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 16 October 2017, at 10 : 37. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs
Answer: Susan Thornton