Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

United States
Under Secretary of State
for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
since August 3, 2024[1]
Nominatorpresident of the United States
Inaugural holderEvelyn S. Lieberman
Formation1999
WebsiteOfficial Website

The under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs is currently a top-ten ranking position[2] in the U.S. Department of State tasked to help ensure public diplomacy is practiced in combination with public affairs and traditional diplomacy to advance U.S. national interests. The under secretary oversees two bureaus at the State Department: Educational and Cultural Affairs and Global Public Affairs. Also reporting to the under secretary are the Global Engagement Center, the Office of Policy, Planning and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

The position was created on October 1, 1999, during the Clinton administration after Title XIII, Section 1313 of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681-776). Section 2305 of the Act (112 Stat. 2681-825) increased the number of under secretaries of state from five to six. Subdivision A of the Act, also known as the Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998, abolished the United States Information Agency and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

On April 4, 2022, Elizabeth M. Allen was named acting under secretary by designation[3] and on June 13, 2023 she was confirmed by a vote of 66–33 in the United States Senate.[4] She assumed office on June 15, 2023.[5]

Full appointments to the position require confirmation by the Senate.

From October 1, 1999, through August 29, 2019, the under secretary has been without a confirmed appointment 35.8% of the days. The average time between confirmed appointments is 289 days (or over 9.5 months). The office was without a confirmed under secretary for 37.2% of the Bush administration, 21.8% of the Obama administration, and 92.9% of the Trump administration (as of December 2, 2020).[6]

List of under secretaries of state for public diplomacy and public affairs

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# Name In office Image President(s) served under
1 Evelyn S. Lieberman October 1, 1999 – January 19, 2001 Bill Clinton
2 Charlotte Beers October 2, 2001 – March 28, 2003 George W. Bush
3 Margaret D. Tutwiler December 16, 2003 – June 30, 2004
4 Karen Hughes September 9, 2005 – December 14, 2007
5 James K. Glassman June 10, 2008 – January 15, 2009
6 Judith McHale May 26, 2009 – July 1, 2011 Barack Obama
- Kathleen Stephens February 6, 2012 – April 4, 2012
(Acting)
7 Tara Sonenshine April 5, 2012 – July 1, 2013
8 Richard Stengel February 11, 2014 – December 7, 2016
- D. Bruce Wharton December 8, 2016 – July 2017
(Acting) 		Barack Obama
Donald Trump
9 Steve Goldstein December 4, 2017 – March 13, 2018 Donald Trump
- Heather Nauert March 13, 2018 – October 10, 2018
(Acting)
- Michelle Giuda February 12, 2019 – March 3, 2020
(Acting by designation)
- Ulrich Brechbuhl March 3, 2020 – September 28, 2020
(Acting by designation)
- Nilda Pedrosa September 28, 2020 – January 20, 2021
(Acting by designation)
- Jennifer Hall Godfrey January 20, 2021 – April 1, 2022
(Acting by designation) 		Joe Biden
10 Elizabeth M. Allen April 4, 2022 – June 15, 2023
(Acting by designation)
June 15, 2023 – August 2, 2024
- Lee Satterfield August 3, 2024 - Incumbent
(Acting)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "x.com".
  2. ^ "Department of State Organization Chart".
  3. ^ "Elizabeth M. Allen".
  4. ^ "Tuesday, June 13, 2023". 13 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Elizabeth M. Allen". United States Department of State. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Whither R: the office that's been vacant two of every five days since 1999 – MountainRunner.us". December 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
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