Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State,ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions,plus one assistant secretary dealing with international organizations. Assistant secretaries usually manage individual bureaus of the Department of State. When the manager of a bureau or another agency holds a title other than assistant secretary,such as "director," it can be said to be of "assistant secretary equivalent rank." Assistant secretaries typically have a set of deputies,referred to as deputy assistant secretaries (DAS).
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is an agency that reports to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security,Democracy,and Human Rights within the Department of State. Under the umbrella of its general mission of developing policies and programs to combat international narcotics and crime,INL plays an important role in the training of partner nation security forces.
Lino Gutiérrez is an American diplomat.
The Bureau of Democracy,Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security,Democracy,and Human Rights.
Charles Samuel Shapiro is an American diplomat and a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. He was President of the Institute of the Americas from October 2011 to July 2014,when Ambassador Shapiro was named the President of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.
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.
Liliana Ayalde is the former United States Ambassador to Brazil and was previously the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the United States State Department with responsibility for the Offices of Caribbean Affairs,Central American Affairs and Cuban Affairs. From January 2017 to September 2019 she served as the Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Foreign Policy Advisor for the United States Southern Command.
In the United States,the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs or ASD (ISA) is the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD (P)) and the United States Secretary of Defense on international security strategy and policy on issues of Department of Defense (DoD) interest related to the governments and defense establishments of the nations and international organizations of Europe (including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization),the Middle East,Africa,and the Western Hemisphere. The ASD (ISA) also oversees security cooperation programs and foreign military sales programs in these regions. Despite the broad title of the office,the ASD (ISA) does not develop policy related to Asia,the Pacific region,Latin America,or South America.
Bisa Williams is an American diplomat. She is the former Ambassador from the United States of America to the Republic of Niger in Niamey. She assumed the post on October 29,2010. She left her post in 2013.
William Edward "Bill" Todd was appointed in May 2019 as Deputy Under Secretary for Management. He also served as the Acting Under Secretary of State for Management from February 2018 to May 2019.
Roberta S. Jacobson is an American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Mexico from June 2016 to May 2018. She previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from March 30,2012,to May 5,2016. The United States Senate approved her nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico on April 28,2016. In March 2018,Jacobson announced her resignation effective May 5. Foreign Policy reported on January 18,2021 that Jacobson would be in charge of Mexico–United States border affairs at the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
James Michael Derham is an American diplomat. He served as United States Ambassador to Guatemala from 2005 to 2008.
Jeffrey DeLaurentis is an American diplomat who served as the Chargéd'affaires ad interim of the Embassy of the United States,Havana from 2015 to 2017 and is currently serving as the acting U.S. ambassador for special political affairs.
Todd Crawford Chapman is an American career diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Brazil and the United States Ambassador to Ecuador.
Robert G. (Rob) Berschinski is currently the Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights at the National Security Council. He previously served as the Senior Vice President for Policy at Human Rights First where he oversees the organization's work advancing a U.S. foreign policy rooted in a strong commitment to human rights,universal values,and American ideals. He is also a Visiting Scholar at NYU's Program in International Relations. Previously Berschinski served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy,Human Rights,and Labor (DRL) at the U.S. Department of State,and was responsible for DRL's work in Europe,Russia,and South and Central Asia. He is a former U.S. Air Force officer and director for Security and Human Rights Policy at the U.S. National Security Council.
Francisco "Paco" Palmieri is an American diplomat who previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs,leading the State Department’s efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy goals in the region from January 2017 to November 2018. Palmieri managed the successful 2018 Summit of the Americas in Peru,U.S. engagement with the Lima Group unifying 15 Western Hemisphere democracies in a multilateral diplomatic response to the crisis in Venezuela,the reorientation of U.S. foreign assistance in support of the Colombia peace process,the formulation and adoption of a new comprehensive U.S. political and economic Caribbean 2020 strategy,the launch of the renegotiation of the 50-year old Columbia River Treaty with Canada,and the multi-agency response to the ongoing migration challenges emanating from Central America. He also was responsible for the daily management of the Bureau’s 53 overseas U.S. diplomatic missions,12,000 employees,and implementation of the Hemisphere’s $1.58 billion foreign assistance and $290 million operating budgets. He recently served as the Civilian Deputy and Foreign Policy Advisor to Admiral Craig S. Faller at United States Southern Command,succeeding former Ambassador Jean Elizabeth Manes in July 2021.
Todd D. Robinson is an American diplomat who has served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs since September 2021. He previously served as the charge d'affaires of the U.S. embassy in Venezuela from December 2017 until being expelled in May 2018,and the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala from 2014 to 2017.
Michael G. Kozak is an American diplomat in the United States Department of State who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Belarus between 2000 and 2003 and chief of mission at the United States Interests Section in Havana between 1996 and 1999,and was a nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador in 1991. He achieved a measure of prominence in the 1980s for his attempts to negotiate with Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to leave power.
Michael J. Fitzpatrick is an American diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Ecuador since 2019.
Julie Jiyoon Chung,birth name as Chung Ji-yoon,is a Korean-American diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka since 2022. She previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA). Her first overseas assignment was in Guangzhou,China. Chung has later served in several posts in Japan,Vietnam,Thailand,Cambodia,Colombia and Iraq.
