The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is currently the fourth-ranking position in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, after the

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

, the deputy secretary, and the

deputy secretary of state for management and resources The United States Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources is the third in charge of the United States Department of State. Along with the United States Deputy Secretary of State, other Deputy Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary ...

. The current under secretary is

Victoria Nuland Victoria Jane Nuland (born July 1, 1961) is an American diplomat currently serving as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Nuland, a former member of the foreign service, served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eur ...

, who was confirmed by the Senate on April 29, 2021, and began work on May 3, 2021. The Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs is a career

Foreign Service officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

. This makes the officeholder the highest-ranking member of the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

. The under secretary serves as the day-to-day manager of overall regional and bilateral policy issues, and oversees the bureaus for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

East Asia and the Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

, Europe and Eurasia, the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, South and Central Asia, the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

, and

International Organizations An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states an ...

. The Under Secretary is advised by Assistant Secretaries of the geographic bureaus, who guide U.S. diplomatic missions within their regional jurisdiction. The political bureaus were first overseen in 1949 by a deputy under secretary for political affairs. Prior to the creation of the position of under secretary of state for political affairs in August 1959, the deputy under secretary for political affairs assisted the secretary and

under secretary of state Under Secretary of State (U/S) is a title used by senior officials of the United States Department of State who rank above the Assistant Secretaries and below the Deputy Secretary. From 1919 to 1972, the Under Secretary was the second-ranking of ...

in the formulation and conduct of

U.S. foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

. After August 1959, the deputy under secretary of political affairs served as a focal point for interdepartmental relations, especially those dealing with politico-military issues. During 1969, the department discontinued the position and created a new Bureau for Politico-Military Affairs, which exists today as the

Bureau of Political-Military Affairs The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM) is an agency within the United States Department of State that bridges the Department of State with the Department of Defense. It provides policy in the areas of international security, security assist ...

under another

under secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

List of Under Secretaries for Political Affairs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Under Secretary Of State For Political Affairs 1959 introductions United States diplomacy