# United States Deputy Secretary of State

The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. If the secretary of state resigns or dies, the deputy secretary of state becomes acting secretary of state until the president nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement. The position was created in 1972. Prior to July 13, 1972, the under secretary of state had been the second ranking officer of the Department of State.
The State Department is the only federal cabinet-level agency to have two co-equal deputy secretaries. The second deputy secretary of state, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, serves as the "first assistant" for the purposes of the Vacancies Reform Act, but both deputy secretaries have full delegated authority to act for the secretary, if not otherwise prohibited by law.
Certain deputy secretaries of state went on to become appointed as the secretary of state, such as Lawrence Eagleburger in 1992, Warren Christopher in 1993, and Antony Blinken in 2021.

## List of deputy secretaries of state

| # | Name | Term began | Term ended | President(s) served under |
| 1 | John N. Irwin II | July 13, 1972 | February 1, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 2 | Kenneth Rush | February 2, 1973 | May 29, 1974 | Richard Nixon |
| 3 | Robert S. Ingersoll | July 10, 1974 | March 31, 1976 | Richard Nixon |
| 3 | Robert S. Ingersoll | July 10, 1974 | March 31, 1976 | Gerald Ford |
| 4 | Charles W. Robinson | April 9, 1976 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| 5 | Warren Christopher | February 26, 1977 | January 16, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| 6 | William P. Clark Jr. | February 25, 1981 | February 9, 1982 | Ronald Reagan |
| 7 | Walter J. Stoessel Jr. | February 11, 1982 | September 22, 1982 | Ronald Reagan |
| 8 | Kenneth W. Dam | September 23, 1982 | June 15, 1985 | Ronald Reagan |
| 9 | John C. Whitehead | July 9, 1985 | January 20, 1989 | Ronald Reagan |
| 10 | Lawrence Eagleburger | January 20, 1989 | December 8, 1992 | George H. W. Bush |
| 11 | Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | January 27, 1993 | November 8, 1993 | Bill Clinton |
| 12 | Strobe Talbott | February 22, 1994 | January 19, 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| 13 | Richard Armitage | March 26, 2001 | February 22, 2005 | George W. Bush |
| 14 | Robert Zoellick | February 22, 2005 | July 7, 2006 | George W. Bush |
| 15 | John Negroponte | February 13, 2007 | January 28, 2009 | George W. Bush |
| 16 | James Steinberg | January 28, 2009 | July 28, 2011 | Barack Obama |
| 17 | William J. Burns | July 28, 2011 | November 3, 2014 | Barack Obama |
| – | Wendy Sherman Acting | November 3, 2014 | January 9, 2015 | Barack Obama |
| 18 | Antony Blinken | January 9, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | Barack Obama |
| – | Thomas A. Shannon Jr. Acting | February 1, 2017 | May 24, 2017 | Donald Trump |
| 19 | John J. Sullivan | May 24, 2017 | December 20, 2019 | Donald Trump |
| 20 | Stephen Biegun | December 21, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump |
| – | Daniel Bennett Smith Acting | January 26, 2021 | April 14, 2021 | Joe Biden |
| 21 | Wendy Sherman | April 14, 2021 | July 28, 2023 | Joe Biden |
| – | Victoria Nuland Acting | July 29, 2023 | February 12, 2024 | Joe Biden |
| 22 | Kurt M. Campbell | February 12, 2024 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden |