# Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs

The assistant secretary of state for African affairs is the head of the Bureau of African Affairs, within the United States Department of State, who guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and advises the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.
On July 18, 1958, Congress authorized an 11th assistant secretary of state, enabling the Department of State to create a bureau to deal with relations with the newly independent nations of Africa. At first, when the Department of State established three geographical divisions in 1909, African affairs were the responsibility of the Divisions of Near Eastern and Western European Affairs. Department Order No. 692 of June 15, 1937, transferred responsibility for all African territories except Algeria and the Union of South Africa to the Division of Near Eastern Affairs. A Division of African Affairs was created in the office of Near Eastern Affairs in January 1944. When the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs was created, there continued to be a Division of African Affairs within that bureau.

## List of assistant secretaries of state for African affairs

Source:
| # | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President served under |
| 1 | Joseph C. Satterthwaite | September 2, 1958 | January 31, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy |
| 2 | G. Mennen Williams | February 1, 1961 | March 23, 1966 | John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 3 | Joseph Palmer II | April 11, 1966 | July 7, 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 4 | David D. Newsom | July 17, 1969 | January 13, 1974 | Richard Nixon |
| 5 | Donald B. Easum | March 18, 1974 | March 26, 1975 | Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford |
| 6 | Nathaniel Davis | April 2, 1975 | July 19, 1975 | Gerald Ford |
| 7 | William E. Schaufele, Jr. | December 19, 1975 | July 17, 1977 | Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter |
| 8 | Richard M. Moose | July 6, 1977 | January 16, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| 9 | Chester Crocker | June 9, 1981 | April 21, 1989 | Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush |
| 10 | Herman Jay Cohen | May 12, 1989 | February 26, 1993 | George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton |
| 11 | George Moose | April 2, 1993 | August 22, 1997 | Bill Clinton |
| 12 | Susan E. Rice | October 9, 1997 | January 20, 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| - | Nancy Jo Powell (Acting) | January 21, 2001 | June 3, 2001 | George W. Bush |
| 13 | Walter H. Kansteiner, III | June 4, 2001 | November 1, 2003 | George W. Bush |
| - | Charles R. Snyder (Acting) | November 1, 2003 | July 24, 2004 | George W. Bush |
| 14 | Constance Berry Newman | July 24, 2004 | August 26, 2005 | George W. Bush |
| 15 | Jendayi Frazer | August 29, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush |
| - | Philip Carter (Acting) | January 20, 2009 | May 7, 2009 | Barack Obama |
| 16 | Johnnie Carson | May 7, 2009 | March 30, 2013 | Barack Obama |
| - | Donald Yamamoto (Acting) | March 30, 2013 | August 5, 2013 | Barack Obama |
| 17 | Linda Thomas-Greenfield | August 6, 2013 | March 10, 2017 | Barack Obama and Donald Trump |
| - | Donald Yamamoto (Acting) | September 5, 2017 | July 22, 2018 | Donald Trump |
| 18 | Tibor P. Nagy, Jr. | July 23, 2018 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump |
| - | Robert F. Godec (Acting) | January 20, 2021 | September 30, 2021 | Joe Biden |
| 19 | Mary Catherine Phee | September 30, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden |
| - | Troy Fitrell (Acting) | January 20, 2025 | Present | Donald Trump |