# Inspector General of the Department of State

The Inspector General of the Department of State heads the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and is responsible for detecting and investigating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the United States Department of State. In the department, the Inspector General has a rank equivalent to an Assistant Secretary of State.

## List of Inspectors General of the Department of State

| # | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President served under |
| 1 | Raymond C. Miller | November 19, 1957 | October 31, 1960 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 2 | Gerald A. Drew | November 13, 1960 | May 31, 1962 | Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy |
| 3 | Norris S. Haselton | June 10, 1962 | July 31, 1964 | John F. Kennedy |
| 4 | Fraser Wilkins | July 23, 1964 | August 8, 1971 | John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon |
| 5 | Thomas W. McElhiney | July 1, 1971 | July 18, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 6 | James S. Sutterlin | October 15, 1973 | August 31, 1974 | Richard Nixon |
| - | Robert L. Yost (acting) | August 31, 1974 | April 16, 1975 | Gerald Ford |
| 7 | William E. Schaufele, Jr. | April 16, 1975 | November 29, 1975 | Gerald Ford |
| 8 | Robert M. Sayre | November 25, 1975 | May 1, 1978 | Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter |
| - | Brandon Grove (acting) | May 1, 1978 | July 5, 1978 | Jimmy Carter |
| 9 | Theodore L. Eliot, Jr. | July 5, 1978 | October 16, 1978 | Jimmy Carter |
| 10 | Robert C. Brewster | January 15, 1979 | January 18, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| 11 | Robert Lyle Brown | July 7, 1981 | June 30, 1983 | Ronald Reagan |
| 12 | William Caldwell Harrop | December 12, 1983 | August 27, 1986 | Ronald Reagan |
| - | Byron Hollingsworth (acting) | August 27, 1986 | August 14, 1987 | Ronald Reagan |
| 13 | Sherman M. Funk | August 14, 1987 | February 15, 1994 | Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton |
| - | Roscoe S. Suddarth (acting) | February 15, 1994 | June 12, 1994 | Bill Clinton |
| - | Harold W. Geisel (acting) | June 12, 1994 | April 7, 1995 | Bill Clinton |
| 14 | Jacquelyn L. Williams-Bridgers | April 7, 1995 | January 31, 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| - | Anne Marie Sigmund (acting) | February 4, 2001 | August 3, 2001 | George W. Bush |
| - | Clark Ervin (acting) | August 3, 2001 | January 23, 2003 | George W. Bush |
| - | Anne Marie Sigmund (acting) | January 24, 2003 | September 28, 2003 | George W. Bush |
| - | Anne W. Patterson (acting) | September 28, 2003 | August 3, 2004 | George W. Bush |
| - | John E. Lange (acting) | August 3, 2004 | August 23, 2004 | George W.Bush |
| - | Cameron R. Hume (acting) | August 23, 2004 | May 2, 2005 | George W. Bush |
| 15 | Howard Krongard | May 2, 2005 | January 15, 2008 | George W. Bush |
| - | William E. Todd (acting) | January 15, 2008 | June 2, 2008 | George W. Bush |
| - | Harold W. Geisel (acting) | June 2, 2008 | September 30, 2013 | George W. Bush and Barack Obama |
| 16 | Steve A. Linick | September 30, 2013 | May 15, 2020 | Barack Obama and Donald Trump |
| - | Stephen Akard (acting) | May 15, 2020 | August 7, 2020 | Donald Trump |
| - | Diana Shaw (acting) | August 7, 2020 | August 31, 2020 | Donald Trump |
| - | Matthew Klimow (acting) | August 31, 2020 | December 11, 2020 | Donald Trump |
| - | Diana Shaw (acting) | December 11, 2020 | April 5, 2024 | Donald Trump and Joe Biden |
| - | Sandra J. Lewis (acting) | April 5, 2024 | May 20, 2024 | Joe Biden |
| 17 | Cardell K. Richardson | May 20, 2024 | January 24, 2025 | Joe Biden and Donald Trump |
| - | Sandra J. Lewis (acting) | January 24, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump |

## Obama and Trump administrations

Harold W. Geisel served as acting Inspector General during Hillary Clinton's service as Secretary of State., which lasted until February 1, 2013. There was no permanent Inspector General at the State Department while Clinton was Secretary, nor did President Barack Obama nominate anyone for that position. Later in 2013, Obama nominated Steve A. Linick, and the Senate confirmed Linick to the role.
Linick served as Inspector General for the balance of Obama's term, continuing into the presidency of Donald Trump. On Friday, May 15, 2020 at 10 p.m., the White House announced that Linick had been removed. The White House said Trump had dismissed Linick at the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Linick had been conducting several investigations into actions by Pompeo. Trump appointed Stephen Akard, who was concurrently serving as the director of the State Department's Office of Foreign Missions, as acting Inspector General. Akard served as acting Inspector General less than three months before resigning. Deputy Inspector General Diana Shaw then became acting Inspector General.