Chief of Protocol of the United States

Chief of Protocol
Chief of Protocol
	Seal of the United States Department of State
	Incumbent; Monica Crowley ; since May 30, 2025
Reports to	United States Secretary of State
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	James Clement Dunn
Formation	1928
Website	Official website

Last updated August 29, 2025

In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, and the United States secretary of state on matters of national and international diplomatic protocol. The chief of protocol holds the rank of ambassador and assistant secretary of state.^[1]^[2]

Duties

The chief arranges itineraries for foreign dignitaries visiting the U.S. and accompanies the president on all official international travel. Additionally, the office is responsible for accrediting foreign diplomats and publishing the list of foreign consular offices in the U.S., organizing ceremonies for treaty signings, conducting ambassadorial swearing-in and state arrival ceremonies, and maintaining Blair House, the official guest house for state visitors.

The chief of protocol duties include being present at the annual State of the Union speech (SOTU) given by the president each January before Congress. These SOTU duties include escorting the dean of the Diplomatic Corps into the House Chamber for the SOTU speech.

The chief of protocol position should not be confused with the separate White House social secretary position.

Divisions

The office identifies six divisions on its website, led by assistant chiefs, who oversee the following principal duties:^[3]

Management
Visits
Ceremonials
Diplomatic Affairs
Blair House
Major Events

List of chiefs of protocol of the United States

#	Image	Name	Assumed office	Left office	President served under
1		James Clement Dunn	February 4, 1928	November 17, 1930	Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover
2		F. Lammot Belin	November 17, 1930	September 15, 1931	Herbert Hoover
3		Warren Delano Robbins	September 15, 1931	June 11, 1933	Herbert Hoover
4		James Clement Dunn	June 11, 1933	April 11, 1935	Franklin D. Roosevelt
5		Richard Southgate	April 11, 1935	July 29, 1937
6		George T. Summerlin	July 29, 1937	January 15, 1944
7		Stanley Woodward	January 15, 1944	May 22, 1950	Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman
8		John F. Simmons	August 18, 1950	January 31, 1957	Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower
9		Wiley T. Buchanan Jr.	February 4, 1957	January 23, 1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
10		Angier Biddle Duke	January 24, 1961	January 20, 1965	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
11		Lloyd Nelson Hand	January 21, 1965	March 21, 1966	Lyndon B. Johnson
12		James W. Symington	March 22, 1966	March 31, 1968
13		Angier Biddle Duke	April 1, 1968	September 26, 1968
14		Tyler Abell	September 30, 1968	January 20, 1969
15		Emil Mosbacher	January 21, 1969	June 30, 1972	Richard Nixon
-		Marion H. Smoak	July 1, 1972	March 1, 1974 (acting)
16		Marion H. Smoak	March 1, 1974	March 30, 1974
17		Henry E. Catto Jr.	April 3, 1974	July 1, 1976	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
18		Shirley Temple Black	July 1, 1976	January 21, 1977	Gerald Ford
19		Evan Dobelle	March 2, 1977	May 22, 1978	Jimmy Carter
20		Edith H. J. Dobelle	November 3, 1978	September 26, 1979
21		Abelardo L. Valdez	October 19, 1979	January 21, 1981
-		Morgan Mason (acting)	January 21, 1981	March 20, 1981	Ronald Reagan
22		Leonore Annenberg	March 20, 1981	January 6, 1982
23		Selwa Roosevelt	April 16, 1982	January 20, 1989
24		Joseph Verner Reed Jr.	May 21, 1989	October 21, 1991	George H. W. Bush
25		John Giffen Weinmann	October 31, 1991	January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
26		Molly M. Raiser	September 14, 1993	July 24, 1997	Bill Clinton
27		Mary Mel French	November 13, 1997	January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton
28		Donald Ensenat	June 6, 2001	February 18, 2007	George W. Bush
-		Raymond P. Martinez (acting)	February 18, 2007	September 14, 2007
29		Nancy Brinker	September 14, 2007	January 20, 2009
30		Capricia Marshall	August 3, 2009	August 1, 2013	Barack Obama
-		Natalie Jones (acting)	August 1, 2013	May 13, 2014
31		Peter A. Selfridge	May 13, 2014	January 20, 2017
-	Post vacant (January 20, 2017 – December 1, 2017)
32		Sean Lawler	December 1, 2017	July 9, 2019	Donald Trump
-		Mary-Kate Fisher (acting)	June 24, 2019	August 12, 2019
33		Cam Henderson	August 12, 2019	January 20, 2021
-		Asel Roberts (acting)	January 20, 2021	January 3, 2022	Joe Biden
34		Rufus Gifford	January 3, 2022	July 28, 2023
-		Ethan Rosenzweig (acting)	August 1, 2023	January 20, 2025
35		Monica Crowley	May 30, 2025	Present	Donald Trump

References

↑ "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
↑ "Department Organization Chart". March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
↑ "U.S. Department of State: Office of the Chief of Protocol". State.gov. Retrieved August 25, 2017.

External links

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[1] "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.

[2] "Department Organization Chart". March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.

[3] "U.S. Department of State: Office of the Chief of Protocol". State.gov. Retrieved August 25, 2017.

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v t e United States Department of State
Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Christopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Allison Hooker, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources	Office of Foreign Assistance Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office of the U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region
Under Secretary for Political Affairs	Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of International Organization Affairs (United States Mission to the United Nations) 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 Chief Economist Office of Global Food Security Office of Global Partnerships Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security	Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs International Security Advisory Board
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (Fulbright Program) Bureau of Global Public Affairs Global Engagement Center International Expositions Unit Office of Global Youth Issues Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
Under Secretary for Management	Bureau of Administration Bureau of Budget and Planning Bureau of Consular Affairs Bureau of Diplomatic Security Bureau of Global Talent Management Bureau of Information Resource Management Bureau of Medical Services Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services Foreign Service Institute (Office of the Historian) Office of Foreign Missions Director of Diplomatic Reception Rooms Office of Management Strategy and Solutions Office of White House Liaison
Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom	Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of International Religious Freedom Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Bureaus/offices reporting directly to the secretary	Chief of Staff Office of the Counselor Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat (Operations Center) Policy Planning Staff (Foreign Affairs Policy Board) Office of Civil Rights Office of Diversity and Inclusion Office of Global Women's Issues Office of Inspector General Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of the Legal Adviser Office of the Ombudsman Office of the Secretary's Special Representative for Syria Engagement Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Office of the Special Representative for Venezuela Office of the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Iran Action Group Foreign Service Grievance Board Secretary's Open Forum

v t e United States assistant secretaries of state (and equivalent ranks)
Reporting to the under secretary for political affairs	African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Reporting to the under secretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment	Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Energy Resources Chief Economist of the Department
Reporting to the under secretary for arms control and international security	Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political-Military Affairs International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Reporting to the under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs	Educational and Cultural Affairs Global Public Affairs
Reporting to the under secretary for management	Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Chief Information Officer of the Department Chief Medical Officer and Designated Agency Safety and Health Official Comptroller of the Department and Director of Global Financial Services Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent Director of Budget and Planning Director of Overseas Buildings Operations Director, Foreign Service Institute Director, Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador Director, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions
Reporting to the under secretary for for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom	Conflict and Stabilization Operations Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Population, Refugees, and Migration Global Health Security and Diplomacy Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (Ambassador-at-Large) Global Criminal Justice (Ambassador-at-Large)
Reporting directly to the secretary	Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department Inspector General Legal Adviser Director, Policy Planning Staff Director, Office of Foreign Assistance Director, Office of Civil Rights and Chief Diversity Officer Chief of Protocol of the United States, with the rank of Ambassador Global Women's Issues (Ambassador-at-Large) Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (Ambassador-at-Large)

Chief of Protocol of the United States

Contents

Duties

Divisions

List of chiefs of protocol of the United States

See also

References

External links

Chief of Protocol
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Monica Crowley since May 30, 2025
Reports to	United States Secretary of State
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	James Clement Dunn
Formation	1928
Website	Official website