United States Assistant Secretary of State
In modern times, Assistant Secretary of State is a title used for many executive positions in the United States State Department. A set of six Assistant Secretaries reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions, plus one Assistant Secretary dealing with international organizations, and another dealing with working with other countries on narcotics issues. Assistant Secretaries usually manage individual bureaus of the Department of State. When the manager of a bureau or another agency holds a title other than Assistant Secretary, such as "Director," it can be said to be of "Assistant Secretary equivalent rank."
From 1853 until 1913,the Assistant Secretary of State, was the second-ranking official within the U.S. Department of State. Prior to 1853, the Chief Clerk was the second-ranking officer, and after 1913, the Counselor was the second-ranking position, though the Assistant Secretary continued to be a position until 1924. From 1867, the Assistant Secretary of State was assisted by a Second Assistant Secretary of State, and from 1875, by a Third Assistant Secretary of State. Specific duties of the incumbents varied over the years and included such responsibilities as supervising the Diplomatic and Consular Bureaus, general supervision of correspondence, consular appointments, administration of the Department, and supervision of economic matters and various geographic divisions. Today, the title of the second-ranking position is the Deputy Secretary of State, with the next tier of State Department officials bearing the rank of Under Secretary of State.
The following is a list of current offices bearing the title of "Assistant Secretary of State":
List of Assistant Secretaries of State
# |
Picture |
Name |
State of Residency |
Term of Office |
President(s) served under |
Secretary of State(s) served under |
1 |
|
Ambrose Dudley Mann |
Virginia |
March 23, 1853 - May 8, 1855 |
Franklin Pierce |
William L. Marcy |
2 |
|
William Hunter[1] |
Rhode Island |
May 9, 1855 - October 31, 1855 |
Franklin Pierce |
William L. Marcy |
3 |
|
John Addison Thomas |
New York |
November 1, 1855 - April 3, 1857 |
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan |
William L. Marcy
Lewis Cass |
4 |
|
John Appleton |
Maine |
April 4, 1857 - June 10, 1860 |
James Buchanan |
Lewis Cass |
5 |
|
William H. Trescot |
South Carolina |
June 8, 1860 - December 20, 1860 |
James Buchanan |
Lewis Cass
Jeremiah S. Black |
6 |
|
Frederick W. Seward |
New York |
March 6, 1861 - March 4, 1869 |
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson |
William H. Seward |
7 |
|
J.C. Bancroft Davis |
New York |
March 25, 1869 - November 13, 1871 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
Hamilton Fish |
8 |
|
Charles Hale |
Massachusetts |
February 19, 1872 - January 24, 1873 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
Hamilton Fish |
9 |
|
J.C. Bancroft Davis |
New York |
January 24, 1873 - January 30, 1874 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
Hamilton Fish |
10 |
|
John Lambert Cadwalader |
New York |
June 17, 1874 – March 20, 1877 |
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes |
Hamilton Fish
William M. Evarts |
11 |
|
Frederick W. Seward |
New York |
March 16, 1877 - October 31, 1879 |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
William M. Evarts |
12 |
|
John Hay |
Ohio |
November 1, 1879 - May 3, 1881 |
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield |
William M. Evarts
James G. Blaine |
13 |
|
Robert R. Hitt |
Illinois |
May 4, 1881 - December 19, 1881 |
James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur |
James G. Blaine |
14 |
|
J.C. Bancroft Davis |
New York |
December 19, 1881 - July 7, 1882 |
Chester A. Arthur |
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen |
15 |
|
John Davis |
Washington DC |
July 7, 1882 - February 23, 1885 |
Chester A. Arthur |
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen |
16 |
|
James D. Porter |
Tennessee |
March 20, 1885 - September 17, 1887 |
Grover Cleveland |
Thomas F. Bayard |
17 |
|
George L. Rives |
New York |
November 19, 1887 - March 5, 1889 |
Grover Cleveland |
Thomas F. Bayard |
18 |
|
William F. Wharton[2] |
Massachusetts |
April 2, 1889 - March 20, 1893 |
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland |
James G. Blaine
John W. Foster
Walter Q. Gresham |
19 |
|
Josiah Quincy |
Massachusetts |
March 20, 1893 - September 22, 1893 |
Grover Cleveland |
Walter Q. Gresham |
20 |
|
Edwin F. Uhl[2] |
Michigan |
November 1, 1893 - February 11, 1896 |
Grover Cleveland |
Walter Q. Gresham
Richard Olney |
21 |
|
William Woodville Rockhill |
Maryland |
February 11, 1896 - May 10, 1897 |
Grover Cleveland
William McKinley |
Richard Olney
John Sherman |
22 |
|
William R. Day |
Ohio |
May 3, 1897 - April 27, 1898 |
William McKinley |
John Sherman |
23 |
|
John B. Moore |
New York |
April 27, 1898 - September 16, 1898 |
William McKinley |
William R. Day |
24 |
|
David J. Hill |
New York |
October 25, 1898 - January 28, 1903 |
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt |
John Hay |
25 |
|
Francis B. Loomis[2] |
Ohio |
January 7, 1903 - October 10, 1905 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
John Hay
Elihu Root |
26 |
|
Robert Bacon |
New York |
September 5, 1905 - January 27, 1909 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
Elihu Root |
27 |
|
John Callan O'Laughlin |
Washington DC |
January 27, 1909 - March 5, 1909 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
Robert Bacon |
28 |
|
Huntington Wilson |
Illinois |
March 5, 1909 - March 19, 1913 |
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson |
Philander C. Knox
William Jennings Bryan |
29 |
|
John E. Osborne |
Wyoming |
April 21, 1913 - December 14, 1916 |
Thomas Woodrow Wilson |
William Jennings Bryan
Robert Lansing |
30 |
|
William Phillips |
Massachusetts |
January 24, 1917 - March 25, 1920 |
Thomas Woodrow Wilson |
Robert Lansing
Bainbridge Colby |
31 |
|
Fred Morris Dearing |
Missouri |
March 11, 1921 - February 28, 1922 |
Warren G. Harding |
Charles Evans Hughes |
32 |
|
Leland B. Harrison |
Illinois |
March 31, 1922 - June 30, 1924 |
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge |
Charles Evans Hughes |
Second Assistant Secretary of State
The Consular and Diplomatic Appropriations Act for the year ending June 30, 1867 authorized the President to appoint a Second Assistant Secretary of State. Duties of incumbents varied less over the years than did those of the other Assistant Secretary positions. Responsibilities included: supervision of correspondence with diplomatic officers; preparation of drafts of treaties, conventions, diplomatic notes, and instructions; detailed treatment of current diplomatic and political questions; approval of correspondence for the signature of the Secretary or Acting Secretary; and consultation on matters of diplomatic procedure, international law and policy, and traditional practices of the Department. The Foreign Service Act of 1924 abolished numerical titles for Assistant Secretaries of State. Only two people held the position from 1866 to 1924.
Third Assistant Secretary of State
A Federal appropriations act for the year ending Jun 30, 1875 (Jun 20, 1874; 18 Stat. 90), authorized the President to appoint a Third Assistant Secretary of State. The Secretary of State was authorized to prescribe the duties of the Assistant Secretaries and other Department of State employees, "and may make changes and transfers therein when, in his judgment, it becomes necessary." The Third Assistant Secretary's duties varied over the years, including such diverse assignments as: supervision of several geographic divisions; oversight of the Bureaus of Accounts and Appointments; international conferences and commissions; and ceremonials and protocol, including presentation to the President of chiefs of foreign diplomatic missions. The Foreign Service Act of 1924 (May 24, 1924; 43 Stat 146) abolished numerical titles for Assistant Secretaries of State.
# |
Picture |
Name |
State of Residency |
Term of Office |
President(s) served under |
Secretary of State(s) served under |
1 |
|
John Allen Campbell |
Wyoming |
February 24, 1875 - November 30, 1877 |
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes |
Hamilton Fish
William M. Evarts |
2 |
|
Charles Payson |
Massachusetts, New York |
June 22, 1878 - June 30, 1881 |
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield |
William M. Evarts
James G. Blaine |
3 |
|
Walker Blaine |
Maine |
July 1, 1881 - June 30, 1882 |
James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur |
James G. Blaine
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen |
4 |
|
Alvey A. Adee |
District of Columbia |
July 18, 1882 - August 5, 1886 |
Chester A. Arthur
Grover Cleveland |
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
Thomas F. Bayard, Sr. |
5 |
|
John Bassett Moore |
Delaware, New York |
August 6, 1886 - September 30, 1891 |
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison |
Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.
James G. Blaine |
6 |
|
William Morton Grinnell |
New York |
February 15, 1892 - April 16, 1893 |
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland |
James G. Blaine
John W. Foster |
7 |
|
Edward Henry Strobel |
New York |
April 17, 1893 - April 16, 1894 |
Grover Cleveland |
Walter Q. Gresham |
8 |
|
William Woodville Rockhill |
District of Columbia, Maryland |
April 17, 1894 - February 13, 1896 |
Grover Cleveland |
Walter Q. Gresham
Richard Olney |
9 |
|
William Woodward Baldwin |
New York |
February 29, 1896 - April 1, 1897 |
Grover Cleveland, William McKinley |
Richard Olney
John Sherman |
10 |
|
Thomas Wilbur Cridler |
West Virginia |
April 8, 1897 - November 15, 1901 |
William McKinley |
John Sherman
William R. Day
John Hay |
11 |
|
Herbert Henry Davis Peirce |
Massachusetts |
November 16, 1901 - June 22, 1906 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
John Hay
Elihu Root |
12 |
|
Huntington Wilson |
Illinois |
July 2, 1906 - December 30, 1908 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
Elihu Root |
13 |
|
William Phillips |
Massachusetts |
January 11, 1909 - October 13, 1909 |
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft |
Elihu Root
Robert Bacon
Philander C. Knox |
14 |
|
Chandler Hale |
Maine |
October 14, 1909 - April 21, 1913 |
William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson |
Philander C. Knox
William Jennings Bryan |
15 |
|
Dudley Field Malone |
New York |
April 22, 1913 - November 22, 1913 |
Woodrow Wilson |
William Jennings Bryan |
16 |
|
William Phillips |
Massachusetts |
March 17, 1914 - January 24, 1917 |
Woodrow Wilson |
William Jennings Bryan
Robert Lansing |
17 |
|
Breckinridge Long |
Massachusetts |
January 29, 1917 - June 8, 1920 |
Woodrow Wilson |
Robert Lansing
Bainbridge Colby |
18 |
|
Van Santvoord Merle-Smith |
New York |
June 24, 1920 - March 4, 1921 |
Woodrow Wilson |
Bainbridge Colby |
19 |
|
Robert Woods Bliss |
New York |
March 16, 1921 - May 3, 1923 |
Warren G. Harding |
Charles Evans Hughes |
20 |
|
J. Butler Wright |
Wyoming |
June 11, 1923 - June 30, 1924 |
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge |
Charles Evans Hughes |
Defunct offices including the designation of Assistant Secretary of State
See also
- Category:United States Assistant Secretaries of State, which includes some holders of post-1924 positions named Assistant Secretary of State
References
External links