Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. since February 12, 2016
Nominator	Barack Obama
Inaugural holder	Robert D. Murphy
Formation	August 1959
Website	Official Website

The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is the fourth ranking position^[1] in the United States Department of State, after the Secretary and the two Deputy Secretaries. While the positions of Secretary and Deputy Secretary are occupied by political appointees, the position of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs is usually (but not always) occupied by a career Foreign Service Officer, making the occupant the highest-ranking member of the Foreign Service. The position has been vacant since Wendy Sherman's departure in October 2015. Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. is slated to succeed Sherman as the new Under Secretary, pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate.^[2]

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, and International Organizations. The Under Secretary is advised by Assistant Secretaries of the geographic bureaus, who guide U.S. diplomatic missions within their regional jurisdiction.^[3]

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 for 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.^[4][5]

List of Under Secretaries for Political Affairs^[5]

Image	Name	State of Residency	Appointment	Entry on Duty	Termination of Appointment
—	Robert D. Murphy	Wisconsin	August 12, 1959	August 14, 1959	December 3, 1959
	Livingston T. Merchant	District of Columbia	December 1, 1959	December 4, 1959	January 31, 1961
	George C. McGhee	Texas	November 29, 1961	December 4, 1961	March 27, 1963
	W. Averell Harriman	New York	April 4, 1963	April 4, 1963	March 17, 1965
	Eugene V. Rostow	Connecticut	October 13, 1966	October 14, 1966	January 20, 1969
—	U. Alexis Johnson	California	February 7, 1969	February 7, 1969	February 1, 1973
	William J. Porter	Massachusetts	February 2, 1973	February 2, 1973	February 18, 1974
—	Joseph John Sisco	Maryland	February 11, 1974	February 19, 1974	June 30, 1976
	Philip C. Habib	California	June 16, 1976	July 1, 1976	April 1, 1978
—	David D. Newsom	California	April 13, 1978	April 19, 1978	February 27, 1981
	Walter J. Stoessel, Jr.	California	February 27, 1981	February 28, 1981	January 26, 1982
	Lawrence S. Eagleburger	Florida	February 11, 1982	February 12, 1982	May 1, 1984
—	Michael Hayden Armacost	Maryland	May 17, 1984	May 18, 1984	March 2, 1989
	Robert Michael Kimmitt	Virginia	March 2, 1989	March 2, 1989	August 23, 1991
—	Arnold Lee Kanter	Virginia	October 4, 1991	October 4, 1991	January 20, 1993
	Peter Tarnoff	New York	March 11, 1993	March 11, 1993	April 18, 1997
	Thomas R. Pickering	New Jersey	May 27, 1997	May 27, 1997	December 31, 2000
	Marc Isaiah Grossman	Virginia	March 23, 2001	March 26, 2001	2005
	R. Nicholas Burns	Massachusetts	March 18, 2005	March 18, 2005	February 29, 2008
	William Joseph Burns	Maryland	February 29, 2008	May 13, 2008	July 28, 2011
	Wendy Sherman[6]	Maryland	September 21, 2011	September 21, 2011	October 2, 2015
	Thomas A. Shannon[7]	Virginia	February 12, 2016	February 12, 2016	Incumbent

References

1. ↑ "Senior Officials". U. S. Department of State. 
2. ↑ "Appointment of Ambassador Tom Shannon To Serve as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs". U.S. Department of State. September 18, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015. 
3. ↑ "Under Secretary for Political Affairs". Retrieved September 20, 2007. 
4. ↑ "History of the U.S. Department of State". Retrieved September 20, 2007. 
5. 1 2 "Under Secretaries of State for Political Affairs". Retrieved September 20, 2007. 
6. ↑ "Biography, Wendy R. Sherman, Under Secretary, Political Affairs". United States Department of State. Retrieved December 29, 2011. 
7. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/02/12/state-department-gets-some-nominees-after-cruz-clears-his-roadblock/. Retrieved February 12, 2016.  Missing or empty |title= (help)

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States of America Robert Daniel Murphy Livingston T. Merchant George C. McGhee W. Averell Harriman Eugene V. Rostow U. Alexis Johnson William J. Porter Joseph J. Sisco Philip Habib David D. Newsom Walter John Stoessel, Jr. Lawrence Eagleburger Michael Armacost Robert M. Kimmitt Arnold Kanter Peter Tarnoff Thomas R. Pickering Marc Grossman R. Nicholas Burns William Joseph Burns Wendy Sherman

United States Department of State Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building John Kerry, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Deputy Secretary of State & Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Bureau of Budget and Planning Counselor of the Department Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources Under Secretary for Political Affairs Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of International Organization Affairs Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Office of the Science and Technology Adviser Office of the Chief Economist Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Public Affairs Bureau of International Information Programs Department Spokesperson Office of the Historian Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs United States Diplomacy Center Under Secretary for Management Bureau of Administration Bureau of Consular Affairs Bureau of Diplomatic Security Bureau of Human Resources Bureau of Information Resource Management Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Diplomatic Reception Rooms Foreign Service Institute Office of Children's Issues Office of eDiplomacy Office of Foreign Missions Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation Office of Medical Services Office of White House Liaison Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of Global Youth Issues Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Bureaus/Offices reporting directly to the Secretary Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat Operations Center Office of Civil Rights Office of Inspector General Office of the Legal Adviser Office of Policy Planning Staff Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of Global Food Security Office of Global Women's Issues Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator Office of Global Partnerships