The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations. The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym.
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entity is usually headed by a foreign minister or minister of foreign affairs. The foreign minister typically reports to the head of government.
The United States Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) is responsible for overseeing the construction, management, and operations of U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world.
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest, with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies, it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
In the United States Government, the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs is part of the United States Department of State and is charged with advising the Secretary of State and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs on matters of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as dealing with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with countries in the region. It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who reports to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
In the United States Government, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) is part of the United States Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in Europe and Eurasia, as well as advising the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
In the United States government, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) is a part of the U.S. Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, as well as advising the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who is currently Brian A. Nichols.
The Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) is an agency within the United States Department of State that is responsible for the U.S. government's relations with countries in the South and Central Asian region. The bureau is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, who reports to the Secretary of State through the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The current Assistant Secretary is Donald Lu, incumbent since September 15, 2021.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), also known as the Bureau of Near East Asian Affairs, is an agency of the Department of State within the United States government that deals with U.S. foreign policy and diplomatic relations with the nations of the Near East. It is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, who reports to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
William Caldwell Harrop is an American diplomat. Harrop served for 39 years as a Foreign Service Officer, with postings as United States ambassador to Guinea, Kenya and the Seychelles, the Congo (Kinshasa), and Israel.
Donald E. Booth is an American diplomat who is serving as the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan. Between August 2013 and January 2017, he was the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan. Prior to his appointments as special envoy, Mr. Booth served as the Ambassador of the United States to Liberia, Zambia, and Ethiopia.
Sudan–United States relations are the bilateral relations between Sudan and the United States. The United States government has been critical of Sudan's human rights record and has dispatched a strong UN Peacekeeping force to Darfur. Relations between both countries in recent years have greatly improved, with Sudan's post-revolutionary government compensating American victims of al-Qaeda terror attacks, the removal of Sudan from the State Department's blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism and the United States Congress having reinstated Sudan's sovereign immunity in December 2020.
South Sudan–United States relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of South Sudan and the United States of America.
Jerry P. Lanier He was a career diplomat with the Department of State. Lanier was a former acting U.S. Ambassador to Sudan. He was in this position from May 13, 2014 to February 26, 2016. He was the Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the Bureau of Counterterrorism, at the Department of State from December 2012 to February 2014. He was a former Ambassador from the United States of America to the Republic of Uganda.
Michael A. Hammer is an American diplomat who is serving as the United States Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa as of 2022. A career member of the United States Foreign Service, Hammer previously served as the United States ambassador to Chile from 2014 to 2016 and the United States ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2018 to 2022.
Atul Keshap is a retired American diplomat and career United States Foreign Service Officer from Virginia who served as the Chargé d'affaires of the United States mission to India in 2021. He formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the United States Department of State. In January, 2022, he was appointed as the president of U.S.-India Business Council. In 2022, Ambassador Keshap was elected into membership of the American Academy of Diplomacy. In May 2023, Keshap was named one of Washington's most influential foreign policy influencers for his work to shape U.S. relations with India.
The Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) is a bureau in the United States Department of State that coordinates the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. Under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. the Bureau of Energy Resources' current head is Assistant Secretary Geoffrey R. Pyatt.
Mary Catherine "Molly" Phee is an American diplomat who has served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs since September 2021. She previously served as the U.S. ambassador to South Sudan from 2015 to 2017. She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of minister counselor.
Bryan David Hunt is an American diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Sierra Leone since September 11, 2023.
