The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security,military,and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House,it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States,and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order,or relative preeminence,for domestic and foreign government officials at diplomatic,ceremonial,and social events within the United States and abroad. The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy,and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies. Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents,vice presidents,first ladies,second ladies,and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security,commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS),is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations,threat analysis,cyber security,counterterrorism,and protection of people,property,and information. Its mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for officials to execute the foreign policy of the United States.
Patrick Francis Kennedy is a former career Foreign Service Officer who served as the U.S. State Department's Under Secretary of State for Management. He was Director of the Office of Management Policy,Rightsizing and Innovation. He has been Deputy Director for Management at the cabinet level Office of the Director of National Intelligence;he returned to the Department of State on May 7,2007. Kennedy was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform and previously served as Chief of Staff for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He was the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration for the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 2001. In 2014,Kennedy was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Richard A. Boucher is an American diplomat who was deputy secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2009 until 2013. He took up post on November 5,2009. Prior to joining OECD,he was the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs,a post he took up on February 21,2006. The Bureau of South Asian Affairs was expanded to include the nations of Central Asia shortly before his confirmation.
Victoria Jane Nuland also known as Toria Nuland is an American diplomat currently serving as acting deputy secretary of state. Nuland,a former member of the Foreign Service,served as the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs at the United States Department of State from 2013 to 2017 and U.S. permanent representative to NATO from 2005 to 2008. She held the rank of career ambassador,the highest diplomatic rank in the U.S. Foreign Service. She is the former CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS),serving from January 2018 until early 2019,and is also the Brady-Johnson distinguished practitioner in grand strategy at Yale University and a member of the board of the National Endowment for Democracy. She served as a nonresident fellow in the Brookings Institution's foreign policy program and senior counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group. Since July 2023 Nuland has served as acting deputy secretary of state following the retirement of Wendy Sherman.
Thomas Alfred Shannon Jr. is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2016 to 2018. In early 2017,Shannon served as acting United States Secretary of State until President Donald Trump's nominee,Rex Tillerson,was confirmed. He was also acting Deputy Secretary of State of the United States until the Senate confirmed President Trump's nominee,John J. Sullivan.
Kristie Anne Kenney is a former senior U.S. diplomat who served as the 32nd Counselor of the United States Department of State from 2016 to 2017. She is a recipient of the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award and held the nation's highest diplomatic rank of Career Ambassador in the United States Foreign Service. She served as the Department of State Transition Coordinator for the 2016–17 transition.
The Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security is the head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security reports to the Under Secretary of State for Management.
Peter Michael McKinley is an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer,McKinley served as U.S. Ambassador to Peru (2007–2010),Colombia (2010–2013),Afghanistan (2015–2016),and Brazil (2017–2018),and then as Senior Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State (2018–2019).
Hugo Llorens is a retired American diplomat. He is a former U.S. Special Chargéd'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul,Afghanistan,(2016–17) and United States Ambassador to Honduras (2008–2011). In his 36-year career he was posted to numerous countries spanning 6 continents. In 2002–2003,he joined the White House staff and served as Director of Andean Affairs advising the President and National Security Advisor on issues pertaining to Colombia,Venezuela,Bolivia,Peru,and Ecuador.
The Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism is an office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security,Democracy,and Human Rights at the United States Department of State. The office "advances U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism" by developing and implementing policies and projects to support efforts to combat antisemitism.
The United States deputy secretary of state for management and resources is the third in charge of the United States Department of State. Along with the deputy secretary of state,the deputy secretary for management and resources is a principal advisor to the secretary of state and shares in the global responsibility for U.S. foreign policy. The deputy secretary for management and resources also has broad responsibilities for oversight and coordination of U.S. foreign assistance and overseas diplomatic operations. The role is sometimes referred to as the "chief operating officer" of the State Department. The position is currently held by Richard R. Verma,serving since April 5,2023.
John Joseph Sullivan is an American attorney and government official who served as the United States Ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022,and who previously served as the 19th United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,Sullivan served as Acting United States Secretary of State from April 1,2018,to April 26,2018,following President Donald Trump's dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13,2018,until Tillerson's official successor,Mike Pompeo,was sworn in. Tillerson did not officially leave office until March 31,2018. Sullivan,however,was delegated all responsibilities of the Secretary of State beginning March 13.
Thomas M. Countryman is a career diplomat who served as United States Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation from September 27,2011 to January 27,2017.
Brett H. McGurk is an American diplomat,attorney,and academic who served in senior national security positions under presidents George W. Bush,Barack Obama,and Donald Trump,and is currently the Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and the National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa,in the Biden administration.
Joseph Yuosang Yun is the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations,appointed in March 2022 by President Joe Biden to negotiate amendments to the Compact of Free Association (COFA),the agreement governing the relationship between the United States and the Freely Associated States (FAS) of the Federated States of Micronesia,the Marshall Islands,and Palau.
Margaret Judith Ann Peterlin is an American lawyer,United States Navy veteran,and former Commerce Department and congressional aide. She was the Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of State,appointed to the position by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson,from February 2017 until the end of March 2018. Since July 6,2018,she has served as the senior vice president of global external and public affairs for AT&T.
Daniel Bennett Smith is an American diplomat who served as the director of the Foreign Service Institute and acting United States Secretary of State at the presidential transition of Joe Biden. He has held the rank of career ambassador since September 2018. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research at the United States Department of State,assuming that post on February 14,2014. He is considered a veteran diplomat by the U.S. diplomatic community.
Irwin Steven Goldstein is a former American diplomat,government official,and businessman who served as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the United States Department of State during Secretary Rex Tillerson's tenure in the Trump Administration. He was also Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs at the United States Department of the Interior under Manuel Lujan Jr. during the Presidency of George H. W. Bush.
