# 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, International Organizations, and Counterterrorism. 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

| # | Name | State of residency | Appointment | Entry on duty | Termination of appointment |
| 1 | Robert D. Murphy | Wisconsin | August 12, 1959 | August 14, 1959 | December 3, 1959 |
| 2 | Livingston T. Merchant | District of Columbia | December 1, 1959 | December 4, 1959 | January 31, 1961 |
| 3 | George C. McGhee | Texas | November 29, 1961 | December 4, 1961 | March 27, 1963 |
| 4 | W. Averell Harriman | New York | April 4, 1963 | April 4, 1963 | March 17, 1965 |
| 5 | Eugene V. Rostow | Connecticut | October 13, 1966 | October 14, 1966 | January 20, 1969 |
| 6 | U. Alexis Johnson | California | February 7, 1969 | February 7, 1969 | February 1, 1973 |
| 7 | William J. Porter | Massachusetts | February 2, 1973 | February 2, 1973 | February 18, 1974 |
| 8 | Joseph J. Sisco | Maryland | February 11, 1974 | February 19, 1974 | June 30, 1976 |
| 9 | Philip Habib | California | June 16, 1976 | July 1, 1976 | April 1, 1978 |
| 10 | David D. Newsom | California | April 13, 1978 | April 19, 1978 | February 27, 1981 |
| 11 | Walter J. Stoessel Jr. | California | February 27, 1981 | February 28, 1981 | January 26, 1982 |
| 12 | Lawrence Eagleburger | Florida | February 11, 1982 | February 12, 1982 | May 1, 1984 |
| 13 | Michael Armacost | Maryland | May 17, 1984 | May 18, 1984 | March 2, 1989 |
| 14 | 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 | Peter Tarnoff | New York | March 11, 1993 | March 11, 1993 | April 18, 1997 |
| 17 | Thomas R. Pickering | New Jersey | May 27, 1997 | May 27, 1997 | December 31, 2000 |
| 18 | Marc Grossman | Virginia | March 23, 2001 | March 26, 2001 | February 25, 2005 |
| 19 | R. Nicholas Burns | Massachusetts | March 18, 2005 | March 18, 2005 | February 29, 2008 |
| 20 | William J. Burns | Maryland | February 29, 2008 | May 13, 2008 | July 28, 2011 |
| - | Thomas A. Shannon Jr. Acting | Minnesota | July 28, 2011 | July 28, 2011 | September 21, 2011 |
| 21 | Wendy Sherman | Maryland | September 21, 2011 | September 21, 2011 | October 2, 2015 |
| 22 | Thomas A. Shannon Jr. | Minnesota | February 2, 2016 | February 12, 2016 | June 4, 2018 |
| - | Stephen Mull Acting | Pennsylvania | June 5, 2018 | June 5, 2018 | August 29, 2018 |
| 23 | David Hale | New Jersey | August 28, 2018 | August 30, 2018 | May 3, 2021 |
| 24 | Victoria Nuland | Virginia | April 29, 2021 | May 3, 2021 | March 22, 2024 |
| - | John R. Bass Acting | New York | March 22, 2024 | March 22, 2024 | January 20, 2025 |
| - | Lisa D. Kenna Acting | Vermont | January 20, 2025 | January 20, 2025 | Incumbent |