Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Last updated

United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Dan Kritenbrink official portrait.jpg
Incumbent
Daniel Kritenbrink
since September 24, 2021
Reports to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Nominator President of the United States
Inaugural holder William Walton Butterworth
Formation1949
Website Official website

The Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs is the head of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and advises the secretary of state and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs on matters relating to the area.

Contents

The Department of State established the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs in 1949, after the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level and after Congress increased the number of Assistant Secretaries of State from six to ten. On November 1, 1966, the department by administrative action changed the incumbent's designation to Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The Division of Far Eastern Affairs, established in 1908, was the first geographical division to be established in the Department of State. [1]

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Far Eastern Affairs, 1949–1966

ImageNameAssumed officeLeft office President served under
Portrait of W. Walton Butterworth.jpg William Walton Butterworth [2] September 29, 1949July 4, 1950 Harry S. Truman
Dean Rusk.jpg Dean Rusk March 28, 1950December 9, 1951 Harry S. Truman
John Moore Allison February 1, 1952April 7, 1953 Harry S. Truman
Walter S. Robertson April 8, 1953June 30, 1959 Dwight D. Eisenhower
J. Graham Parsons.jpg J. Graham Parsons July 1, 1959March 30, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Photograph of Walter P. McConaughy 59-SO-186-VS-255-53.jpg Walter P. McConaughy April 24, 1961December 3, 1961 John F. Kennedy
Averill Harriman September 1965 (cropped).jpg W. Averell Harriman December 4, 1961 [3] April 3, 1963 John F. Kennedy
Roger Hilsman Department of State.jpg Roger Hilsman May 9, 1963March 15, 1964 John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1966–present

ImageNameAssumed officeLeft office President served under
Advisors meeting at Camp David - NARA - 192569 crop William Bundy.jpg William Bundy March 16, 1964May 4, 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson
Marshall Green May 5, 1969May 10, 1973 Richard Nixon
G. McMurtrie Godley [4] Richard Nixon
Robert S. Ingersoll.jpg Robert S. Ingersoll January 8, 1974July 9, 1974 Richard Nixon
Philiphabib cropped.jpg Philip Habib September 27, 1974June 30, 1976 Gerald Ford
Arthur W Hummel Jr.jpg Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. July 12, 1976March 14, 1977 Gerald Ford
Holbrooke-Amtsfoto 1-293x400.jpg Richard Holbrooke March 31, 1977January 13, 1981 Jimmy Carter
John H. Holdridge.jpg John H. Holdridge May 28, 1981December 9, 1982 [5] Ronald Reagan
Paul Wolfowitz (cropped).jpg Paul Wolfowitz December 22, 1982March 12, 1986 Ronald Reagan
Gaston Sigur Official Photograph.jpg Gaston J. Sigur, Jr. March 12, 1986February 21, 1989 Ronald Reagan
Richard L. Armitage.jpeg Richard Armitage [6] George H. W. Bush
Richard Solomon (27775467371).jpg Richard H. Solomon June 23, 1989July 10, 1992 George H. W. Bush
William Clark, Jr. July 10, 1992April 23, 1993 George H. W. Bush
Winston Lord.jpg Winston Lord April 23, 1993February 18, 1997 Bill Clinton
Stanley O Roth.jpg Stanley O. Roth August 5, 1997January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton
James A. Kelly, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.jpg James A. Kelly May 1, 2001January 31, 2005 George W. Bush
Evans J.R. Revere (acting)February 1, 2005April 8, 2005 [7] George W. Bush
2006 0922 chris hill.jpg Christopher R. Hill April 8, 2005April 21, 2009 George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Kurt M. Campbell.jpg Kurt M. Campbell June 2, 2009February 8, 2013 Barack Obama
Daniel Russel.jpg Daniel R. Russel July 12, 2013March 8, 2017 Barack Obama and Donald Trump
Susan Thornton 2016.jpg Susan Thornton (acting)March 9, 2017July 7, 2018 [8] Donald Trump
W. Patrick Murphy official photo (cropped).jpg W. Patrick Murphy (acting)July 2018June 2019Donald Trump
David R. Stilwell official photo (cropped).jpg David R. Stilwell June 20, 2019January 20, 2021Donald Trump
Ambassador-Sung-Kim-2020.jpg Sung Kim (acting)January 20, 2021June 4, 2021 [9] Joe Biden
Dir-moy-portrait-high-resolution-1469x2073.jpg Kin W. Moy (acting)June 15, 2021September 24, 2021 Joe Biden
Dan Kritenbrink official portrait (cropped).jpg Daniel Kritenbrink September 24, 2021 [10] Incumbent Joe Biden

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References

  1. "Assistant Secretaries of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs" . Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  2. Butterworth was initially appointed as "Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs." On March 20, 1950, his title was changed to "Assistant Secretary of State for Japanese Affairs."
  3. Initially commissioned during a recess of the Senate. He was later confirmed and re-commissioned on March 5, 1962.
  4. Godley was never commissioned and President Nixon withdrew his nomination before the Senate acted upon it.
  5. "John Herbert Holdridge - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
  6. Nomination withdrawn.
  7. "BIOGRAPHY: Revere, Evans J.R. Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs". U. S. Department of State. February 28, 2005. Archived from the original on August 27, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2005.
  8. Griffiths, Brent D. (June 30, 2018). "Career diplomat Thornton to leave State Department". POLITICO.
  9. Sung Kim, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, archived from the original on June 18, 2021
  10. "Daniel J. Kritenbrink". United States Department of State. Retrieved September 28, 2021.