Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs

United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State
since September 15, 2021
Reports toUnder Secretary of State for Political Affairs
NominatorPresident of the United States
Inaugural holderNelson Rockefeller
Formation1944
WebsiteOfficial website

The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assistant Secretary of State guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of the Western Hemisphere and advises the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

The Department of State created the position of Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs during the general reorganization of December 20, 1944, after Congress had authorized an increase in the number of Assistant Secretaries of State from four to six. This reorganization was the first to assign substantive designations to specific Assistant Secretary positions. The position was temporarily discontinued between June 1947 and June 1949, when American Republic Affairs were handled by an Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs.[1]

The Department re-established the position in June 1949 after the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level and after Congress increased the number of Assistant Secretaries of State from six to ten. On October 3, 1949, the Department by administrative action changed the incumbent's designation to Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs. The Department of State had first established a Division of Latin American Affairs in 1909.[1]

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for American Republic Affairs, 1944–1947

[edit]
Image Name Assumed office Left office President served under
Nelson Rockefeller December 20, 1944 August 17, 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
Spruille Braden October 29, 1945 June 27, 1947 Harry S. Truman

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Inter-American Affairs, 1949–2000

[edit]
Image Name Assumed office Left office President served under
Edward G. Miller, Jr. June 28, 1949 December 31, 1952 Harry S. Truman
John M. Cabot March 3, 1953 March 1, 1954 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Henry F. Holland March 2, 1954 September 13, 1956
Roy R. Rubottom, Jr. June 18, 1957 August 27, 1960
Thomas C. Mann August 28, 1960 April 20, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
Wymberley D. Coerr (Acting)[2] April 20, 1961 July 17, 1961 John F. Kennedy
Robert F. Woodward July 17, 1961 March 17, 1962
Edwin M. Martin May 18, 1962 January 2, 1964 John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Thomas C. Mann January 3, 1964 March 17, 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson
Jack Hood Vaughn March 22, 1965 February 28, 1966
Lincoln Gordon March 9, 1966 June 30, 1967
Covey T. Oliver July 1, 1967 December 31, 1968
Charles A. Meyer April 2, 1969 March 2, 1973 Richard Nixon
Jack B. Kubisch May 29, 1973 September 4, 1974
William D. Rogers October 7, 1974 June 18, 1976 Gerald Ford
Harry W. Shlaudeman July 22, 1976 March 14, 1977
Terence Todman April 1, 1977 June 27, 1978 Jimmy Carter
Viron P. Vaky July 21, 1978 November 30, 1979
William G. Bowdler January 4, 1980 January 16, 1981
Thomas O. Enders June 23, 1981 June 27, 1983 Ronald Reagan
Langhorne A. Motley July 12, 1983 July 3, 1985
Elliott Abrams July 17, 1985 January 20, 1989
Bernard W. Aronson June 16, 1989 July 2, 1993 George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
Alexander Watson July 2, 1993 March 29, 1996 Bill Clinton
Jeffrey Davidow August 7, 1996 July 6, 1998[3]

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, 2000–present

[edit]
Image Name Assumed office Left office President served under
Peter F. Romero January 4, 2001[4] June 4, 2001 Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Otto Reich January 11, 2002 July 22, 2004 George W. Bush
Roger Noriega July 31, 2004 October 6, 2005
Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. October 17, 2005 November 10, 2009 George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Arturo Valenzuela November 10, 2009 July 31, 2011 Barack Obama
Roberta S. Jacobson July 31, 2011 March 30, 2012 (acting)
March 30, 2012 May 5, 2016
Mari Carmen Aponte (Acting) May 5, 2016 January 20, 2017
Francisco "Paco" Palmieri (Acting) January 20, 2017 October 15, 2018 Donald Trump
Kimberly Breier October 15, 2018 August 30, 2019
Michael Kozak (Acting) September 13, 2019 January 20, 2021
Julie J. Chung (Acting) January 20, 2021 August 3, 2021 Joe Biden
Ricardo Zúñiga (Acting) August 3, 2021 September 15, 2021
Brian A. Nichols September 15, 2021 Incumbent

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Assistant Secretaries for Western Hemisphere Affairs". Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  2. ^ Pace, Eric (23 October 1996). "Wymberly deR. Coerr, 83, Ex-U.S. Envoy to Uruguay and Ecuador". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Jeffrey S. Davidow - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov.
  4. ^ Served as Acting Assistant Secretary from July 7, 1999.
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