# Counselor of the United States Department of State

The counselor of the United States Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State that serves the secretary of state as a special advisor and consultant on major problems of foreign policy and who provides guidance to the appropriate bureaus with respect to such matters. The counselor conducts special international negotiations and consultations, and also undertakes special assignments from time to time, as directed by the secretary of state. Currently, the counselor holds under law a rank equivalent to that of under secretary of state. Unlike the other under secretaries of state, the counselor currently does not require Senate confirmation. Historically, the role was appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the United States Senate as authorized by 22 U.S. Code § 2651a as one of four "other senior officials."
The secretary of state created the position of counselor for the Department of State in 1909 as part of a general department reorganization. In 1912, the position became a presidential appointment. Between 1913 and 1919, the counselor served as the department's second-ranking officer, assuming the role previously exercised by the assistant secretary of state. In 1919, the newly created position of under secretary of state subsumed the duties of the counselor. An Act of Congress, May 18, 1937, re-established the position of counselor of the Department of State. Between 1961 and 1966, the counselor also served as the chairman of the Policy Planning Council. On April 30, 1994, the title was changed to under secretary of state for global affairs when Counselor Timothy E. Wirth was appointed to that position, but another counselor was appointed in 1997.

## List of counselors of the United States Department of State

| # | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President served under |
| 1 | Chandler P. Anderson | August 23, 1912 | April 22, 1913 | William Howard Taft |
| 2 | John Bassett Moore | April 23, 1913 | March 4, 1914 | Woodrow Wilson |
| 3 | Robert Lansing | April 1, 1914 | June 23, 1915 | Woodrow Wilson |
| 4 | Frank Polk | September 16, 1915 | June 30, 1919 | Woodrow Wilson |
| 5 | R. Walton Moore | May 21, 1937 | February 8, 1941 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 6 | Benjamin Victor Cohen | September 14, 1945 | July 31, 1947 | Harry S. Truman |
| 7 | Charles E. Bohlen | August 1, 1947 | August 3, 1949 | Harry S. Truman |
| 8 | George F. Kennan | August 4, 1949 | July 11, 1951 | Harry S. Truman |
| 9 | Charles E. Bohlen | July 12, 1951 | March 29, 1953 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 10 | Douglas MacArthur II | March 30, 1953 | December 16, 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 11 | G. Frederick Reinhardt | March 17, 1957 | February 3, 1960 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 12 | Theodore Achilles | March 24, 1960 | February 15, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 13 | George C. McGhee | February 16, 1961 | December 3, 1961 | John F. Kennedy |
| 14 | Walt Whitman Rostow | December 4, 1961 | March 31, 1966 | John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 15 | Robert R. Bowie | September 21, 1966 | April 1, 1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 16 | Richard F. Pedersen | January 24, 1969 | July 26, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 17 | Helmut Sonnenfeldt | January 7, 1974 | February 21, 1977 | Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford |
| 18 | Matthew Nimetz | April 8, 1977 | March 19, 1980 | Jimmy Carter |
| 19 | Rozanne L. Ridgway | March 20, 1980 | February 24, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| 20 | Robert McFarlane | February 28, 1981 | April 4, 1982 | Ronald Reagan |
| 21 | James L. Buckley | September 9, 1982 | September 26, 1982 | Ronald Reagan |
| 22 | Ed Derwinski | March 23, 1983 | March 24, 1987 | Ronald Reagan |
| 23 | Max Kampelman | July 15, 1987 | January 20, 1989 | Ronald Reagan |
| 24 | Robert Zoellick | March 2, 1989 | August 23, 1992 | George H. W. Bush |
| - | Kenneth Juster (acting) | August 23, 1992 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush |
| 25 | Tim Wirth | April 23, 1993 | April 30, 1994 | Bill Clinton |
| 26 | Wendy Sherman | August 6, 1997 | January 20, 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| 27 | Philip D. Zelikow | February 1, 2005 | January 2, 2007 | George W. Bush |
| 28 | Eliot A. Cohen | April 30, 2007 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush |
| 29 | Cheryl Mills | January 20, 2009 | February 1, 2013 | Barack Obama |
| 30 | Heather Higginbottom | February 1, 2013 | December 13, 2013 | Barack Obama |
| 31 | Tom Shannon | December 24, 2013 | February 12, 2016 | Barack Obama |
| 32 | Kristie Kenney | February 12, 2016 | February 17, 2017 | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
| 33 | Maliz E. Beams | August 17, 2017 | November 27, 2017 | Donald Trump |
| 34 | Ulrich Brechbuhl | May 1, 2018 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump |
| 35 | Derek Chollet | January 20, 2021 | July 22, 2024 | Joe Biden |
| 36 | Tom Sullivan | July 22, 2024 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden |
| 36 | Michael Needham | January 20, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump |