Director of Policy Planning

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Director of Policy Planning
U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Counselor and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State Michael Austin Needham.jpg
Incumbent
Michael Needham [1]
since September 15, 2025
Appointer United States Secretary of State
Inaugural holder George F. Kennan
Formation1947
Website Official website

The director of policy planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the policy planning staff, with a rank equivalent to assistant secretary. [2] [3] The position has traditionally been held by many members of the U.S. foreign policy establishment. Former directors of policy planning include two national security advisors, a president of the World Bank, and several presidents of the Council on Foreign Relations.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Directors of policy planning

No.NameAssumed officeLeft office President appointed by
1 George F. Kennan 19471949 Harry S. Truman
2 Paul Nitze 19501953
3 Robert R. Bowie 19531957 Dwight D. Eisenhower
4 Gerard C. Smith 19571961
5 George C. McGhee 19611961 John F. Kennedy
6 Walt Whitman Rostow 19611966
7 Henry David Owen 19661969 Lyndon B. Johnson
8 William I. Cargo 19691973 Richard Nixon
9 James S. Sutterlin 19731973 Richard Nixon
10 Winston Lord 19731977 Gerald Ford
11 Anthony Lake 19771981 Jimmy Carter
12 Paul Wolfowitz 19811982 Ronald Reagan
13 Stephen W. Bosworth 19831984
14 Peter W. Rodman 19841986
15 Richard H. Solomon 19861989
16 Dennis B. Ross 19891992 George H. W. Bush
17 Samuel W. Lewis 19931994 Bill Clinton
18 James Steinberg 19941996
19 Gregory B. Craig 19971999
20 Morton Halperin [4] 19982001
21 Richard N. Haass 20012003 George W. Bush
22 Mitchell Reiss 20032005
23 Stephen D. Krasner 20052007
24 David F. Gordon 20072009
25 Anne-Marie Slaughter 20092011 Barack Obama
26 Jake Sullivan 20112013
27 David McKean [5] 20132015
28 Jonathan Finer 20152017
29 Brian Hook 20172018 Donald Trump
30 Kiron Skinner [6] 20182019
31 Peter Berkowitz [7] 20192021
32 Salman Ahmed 20212025 Joe Biden
33 Michael Anton 20252025 Donald Trump
34 Michael Needham 2025Present

References

  1. ↑ https://www.state.gov/biographies/michael-a-needham/
  2. ↑ "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". U.S. Department of State. January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Department Organization Chart". U.S. Department of State. March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Mort Halperin". www.opensocietyfoundations.org. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ State Department profile for David McKean
  6. ↑ "Kiron Skinner". state.gov. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Peter Berkowitz". United States Department of State. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
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