Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security

Last updated

United States
Under Secretary of State
for Arms Control and
International Security
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State.jpg
Incumbent
Bonnie Jenkins
since July 22, 2021
Nominator President of the United States
Inaugural holder Curtis W. Tarr
Formation1972
Website state.gov/t

The Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security (T) is a position within the U.S. Department of State that serves as Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament.

Contents

In this capacity, the Under Secretary (U/S) attends and participates, at the direction of the President, in National Security Council (NSC) and subordinate meetings pertaining to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament and has the right to communicate, through the Secretary of State, with the President and members of the NSC on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament concerns.

The U/S also leads the interagency policy process on nonproliferation and manages global U.S. security policy, principally in the areas of nonproliferation, arms control, regional security and defense relations, and arms transfers and security assistance. The U/S provides policy direction in the following areas: nonproliferation, including the missile and nuclear areas, as well as chemical, biological, and conventional weapons proliferation; arms control, including negotiation, ratification, verification and compliance, and implementation of agreements on strategic, non-conventional, and conventional forces; regional security and defense relations, involving policy regarding U.S. security commitments worldwide as well as on the use of U.S. military forces in unilateral or international peacekeeping roles; and arms transfers and security assistance programs and arms transfer policies.

By delegation from the Secretary, the U/S performs a range of functions under the Foreign Assistance Act, Arms Export Control Act, and related legislation. The bureaus of International Security and Nonproliferation, Political-Military Affairs, and Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance are under the policy oversight of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. By statute, the Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, and the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs all report to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

According to the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State, the Under Secretary first received the permanent title "Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament" when the Clinton administration decided to merge the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the United States Information Agency into the State Department, as well as realigning the United States Agency for International Development with it.

List of Under Secretaries of State for International Security Affairs, 1972–1993

#NameAssumed officeLeft office President served under
1 Curtis W. Tarr May 2, 1972November 25, 1973 Richard Nixon
2 William H. Donaldson November 26, 1973May 10, 1974Richard Nixon
3 Carlyle E. Maw July 10, 1974September 17, 1976 Gerald Ford
4 Lucy W. Benson [1] March 28, 1977January 5, 1980 Jimmy Carter
5 Matthew Nimetz February 21, 1980December 5, 1980Jimmy Carter
6 James L. Buckley February 28, 1981August 20, 1982 Ronald Reagan
7 William Schneider Jr. September 9, 1982October 31, 1986Ronald Reagan
8 Ed Derwinski March 24, 1987January 21, 1989Ronald Reagan
9 Reginald Bartholomew April 20, 1989July 7, 1992 George H. W. Bush
10 Frank G. Wisner July 20, 1992January 19, 1993George H. W. Bush

List of Under Secretaries of State for Arms Control and International Security, 1993–present

#NameAssumed officeLeft office President served under
11 Lynn Etheridge Davis April 1, 1993August 8, 1997 Bill Clinton
12 John D. Holum [2] December 1, 1997 [3] August 7, 2000Bill Clinton
13 John R. Bolton May 11, 2001July 31, 2005 George W. Bush
14 Robert Joseph June 1, 2005March 2, 2007George W. Bush
- John Rood (acting) [4] September 26, 2007January 20, 2009George W. Bush
15 Ellen Tauscher June 26, 2009February 7, 2012 Barack Obama
16 Rose Gottemoeller [5] February 7, 2012
Acting: February 7–March 7, 2014
October 12, 2016Barack Obama
- Thomas M. Countryman (acting) [4] October 12, 2016January 27, 2017Barack Obama/Donald Trump
- C.S. Eliot Kang (acting) [4] January 27, 2017January 9, 2018Donald Trump
- Christopher Ashley Ford (acting) [4] January 9, 2018April 30, 2018Donald Trump
17 Andrea L. Thompson April 30, 2018October 20, 2019Donald Trump
- Christopher Ashley Ford (acting) [4] October 21, 2019January 8, 2021 [6] Donald Trump
- Marshall Billingslea (acting) [4] January 11, 2021January 20, 2021Donald Trump
- C.S. Eliot Kang (as Senior Official) [7] January 20, 2021July 21, 2021 Joe Biden
18 Bonnie Jenkins July 22, 2021 [8] Joe Biden

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons</span> International treaty

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States National Security Council</span> U.S. federal executive national security and intelligence forum

The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Joseph</span> American academic and ambassador

Robert G. Joseph is a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy. He was the United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation, with ambassadorial rank. Prior to this post, Joseph was the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, a position he held until January 24, 2007. Joseph is known for being instrumental in creating the Proliferation Security Initiative and as the architect of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. He was also the US chief negotiator to Libya in 2003 who convinced the Libyans to give up their WMD programs. He also recently authored a book describing his experience in negotiating with Libya entitled "Countering WMD."

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 and one equivalent as the coordinator/ambassador at large for counterterrorism. 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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arms Control and Disarmament Agency</span> 1961–1999 independent agency of the US government

The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an independent agency of the United States government that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifying effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies, and agreements."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation</span> U.S. State Department division

The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) is a bureau within the United States Department of State responsible for managing a broad range of nonproliferation and counterproliferation functions. The bureau leads U.S. efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, advanced conventional weapons, and related materials, technologies, and expertise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance</span> Office in the United States Department of State

The Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance is the head of the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. The position was created on December 12, 1999, by Secretary Albright as the Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance. The Bureau became fully operational on February 1, 2000, and was first known as the Verification and Compliance Bureau. Within the department, the Assistant Secretary is responsible for all matters relating to the supervision of verification and compliance with international arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements. The bureau was given its current name during the Obama administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rood</span> American politician (born 1968)

John Charles Rood is an American national security adviser and former government official who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from January 2018 to February 2020. Before that, he was Senior Vice President of Lockheed Martin where he oversaw international business. He also served as vice president for Domestic Business Development at Lockheed Martin and he was a vice president at the Raytheon Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Gottemoeller</span> American diplomat (born 1953)

Rose Eilene Gottemoeller is an American diplomat who served as Deputy Secretary General of NATO from October 2016 to October 2019 under Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Before then she was the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. State Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula A. DeSutter</span> American government official

Paula Adamo DeSutter was United States Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation from 2002 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Ashley Ford</span> American government employee (born 1967)

Christopher Ashley Ford is an American lawyer and government official who served from January 2018 until January 2021 as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation. He was nominated to that position by President Donald Trump, and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on December 21, 2017. After October 21, 2019, Ford also, by delegation from Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, performed the duties of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security until his resignation from the Department of State on January 8, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald F. Lehman</span>

Ambassador Ronald Frank Lehman II is currently Director of the Center for Global Security Research at the United States Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He is also Chair of the Governing Board of International Science and Technology Center, an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Moscow and is a member of the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance</span> Bureau

The Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability, formerly the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. It is responsible for providing oversight of policy and resources of all matters relating to the verification of compliance or discovery of noncompliance with international arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements.

Thomas Graham Jr. is a former senior U.S. diplomat. Graham was involved in the negotiation of every single international arms control and non-proliferation agreement from 1970 to 1997. This includes the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties, the Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) Treaty, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) Treaty, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT), Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). In 1993, Ambassador Graham served as acting director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) from January to November, 1993 and Acting Deputy Director from November, 1993 to July, 1994. From 1994 through 1997, he was president Bill Clinton's special representative for Arms Control, Non-Proliferation, and Disarmament. Graham successfully led the U.S. government efforts to achieve the permanent extension of the NPT in 1995. Graham also served for 15 years as the general counsel of ACDA. Throughout his career, Thomas Graham has worked with six U.S. Presidents including Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Ambassador Graham worked on the negotiation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention and managed the Senate approval of the ratification of the Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in war, as well as the Biological Weapons Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Jenkins</span> American diplomat

Bonnie Denise Jenkins currently serves as the under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs. During the Obama administration, she was the U.S. Department of State's coordinator for threat reduction programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas J. Hirschfeld</span>

Thomas Johannes Hirschfeld was a United States Foreign Service Officer and State Department official who served as Deputy Assistant Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in the Carter administration. In 1979, he became the Deputy Head (Minister) of the Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions delegation negotiating troop withdrawals from Europe between NATO and the Warsaw Pact states in Vienna, Austria, and was appointed acting head in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Chapman Foster</span> American diplomat

William Chapman Foster was an American businessman and high-ranking government official. He served as United States Under Secretary of Commerce and United States Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Harry Truman. Later, he served as the first United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency director, under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Friedt</span> American diplomat

Anita E. Friedt is an American diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C.S. Eliot Kang</span> American diplomat (born 1962)

C.S. Eliot Kang is an American diplomat and member of the Senior Executive Service. He currently serves as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) at the U.S. Department of State. From January to July 2021 and January 2017 to January 2018, Kang served as acting ISN Assistant Secretary and also exercised the authority of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. He also served as acting ISN Assistant Secretary from January to June 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yleem Poblete</span> American government official

Yleem D.S. Poblete is a former American government official who served as the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation from April 30, 2018 to June 7, 2019. Poblete previously served as the Chief of Staff of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she worked for close to 20 years.

References

  1. By administrative action, Benson's titled was renamed "Under Secretary for Security Assistance," and then, on August 22, 1977, as "Under Secretary for Security Assistance, Science, and Technology." The position reverted to its former name during the Reagan Administration.
  2. Served as Acting Under Secretary beginning December 15, 1997. He was commissioned as Under Secretary on August 7, 2000, during a recess of the Senate, but his appointment was rejected by the Senate on September 28, 2000.
  3. This date is given on the State Department's website: state.gov, however, it appears to be incorrect because John Bolton took over this position on May 11, 2001.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Senior Official designated as Acting Under Secretary. Not officially appointed as Under Secretary.
  5. "Rose Gottemoeller Designated as Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security" . Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  6. "In unusual move, top Trump official rescinds cheery exit letter and resubmits a protest resignation". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  7. Appointed an Officer of the United States and designated Senior Official exercising the authorities of Under Secretary.
  8. "Bonnie Denise Jenkins". United States Department of State. Retrieved September 27, 2021.