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Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs

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The assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs is the head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary guides the operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in various countries of North Africa and the Middle East and advises the secretary of state and the under secretary of state for political affairs.[1]

Assistant Secretary of State
for Near Eastern Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State
since May 31, 2022
U.S. Department of State
Reports toUnder Secretary of State for Political Affairs
NominatorPresident of the United States
Inaugural holderGeorge C. McGhee
Formation1949
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs is a senior official in the United States Department of State responsible for overseeing U.S. foreign policy and relations in the Near Eastern region, which includes countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Department of State established the position of assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern, South Asian, and African affairs on October 3, 1949. The Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government, popularly known as the Hoover Commission, had recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level and after Congress increased the number of assistant secretaries of state from six to ten. The Department of State established a Division of Near Eastern Affairs in 1909, which dealt with Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe as well as with the Middle East. The final remnant of this practice ended on April 18, 1974, when the department transferred responsibility for Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus to the Bureau of European Affairs.[2]

The Division of Near Eastern Affairs included Egypt and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) from its inception. It acquired responsibility for the rest of Africa (except Algeria and the Union of South Africa) in 1937. Relations with African nations became the responsibility of a new Bureau of African Affairs on August 20, 1958. Still, relations with North African nations reverted to the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs on April 22, 1974. The Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 authorized the appointment of an assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs on October 28, 1991. The Bureau of South Asian Affairs was established August 24, 1992, with the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs arriving at its present title.[2]

List of assistant secretaries of state

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Near Eastern, South Asian, and African affairs, 1949–1958

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# Name Assumed office Left office President served under
1 George C. McGhee June 28, 1949 December 19, 1951 Harry S. Truman
2 Henry A. Byroade April 14, 1952 January 25, 1955 Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower
3 George V. Allen January 26, 1955 August 27, 1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower
4 William M. Rountree August 30, 1956 July 6, 1959 Dwight D. Eisenhower

Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, 1958–1992

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# Name Assumed office Left office President served under
5 G. Lewis Jones July 10, 1959 April 20, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
6 Phillips Talbot April 21, 1961 September 1, 1965 John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
7 Raymond A. Hare September 22, 1965 November 30, 1966 Lyndon B. Johnson
8 Lucius D. Battle April 5, 1967 September 30, 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson
9 Parker T. Hart October 14, 1968 February 4, 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson
10 Joseph J. Sisco February 10, 1969 February 18, 1974 Richard Nixon
11 Alfred Atherton April 27, 1974 April 13, 1978 Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter
12 Harold H. Saunders April 11, 1978 January 16, 1981 Jimmy Carter
13 Nicholas A. Veliotes May 21, 1981 October 27, 1983 Ronald Reagan
14 Richard W. Murphy October 28, 1983 May 15, 1989 Ronald Reagan
15 John Hubert Kelly June 16, 1989 September 30, 1991 George H. W. Bush
16 Edward Djerejian September 30, 1991 December 17, 1993 George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton

Near Eastern affairs, 1992–present

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On August 24, 1992, the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs divided into a separate Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and a Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. At that time, Edward Djerejian became assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs; he was also concurrently acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs until May 30, 1993.

# Name Assumed office Left office President(s) served under
16 Edward Djerejian September 30, 1991 December 17, 1993 George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
17 Robert Pelletreau February 18, 1994 January 24, 1997 Bill Clinton
18 Martin Indyk October 14, 1997 November 16, 1999 Bill Clinton
19 Edward S. Walker Jr. January 18, 2000 May 1, 2001 Bill Clinton
20 William J. Burns June 4, 2001 March 2, 2005 George W. Bush
21 David Welch March 18, 2005 December 18, 2008 George W. Bush
22 Jeffrey D. Feltman August 18, 2009 May 31, 2012 Barack Obama
23 Anne W. Patterson December 23, 2013 January 6, 2017 Barack Obama
- Stuart E. Jones (acting) January 9, 2017 June 2017 Donald Trump
- David M. Satterfield (acting) September 2017 June 2019 Donald Trump
24 David Schenker June 14, 2019 January 20, 2021 Donald Trump
- Joey R. Hood (acting) January 20, 2021 August 30, 2021 Joe Biden
- Yael Lempert (acting) August 31, 2021 May 31, 2022 Joe Biden
25 Barbara A. Leaf May 31, 2022 present Joe Biden

References

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  1. ^ "Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs". Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs". Retrieved September 22, 2007.
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