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Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs

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United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for Political-Military Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State
Incumbent
Stanley L. Brown
Acting 
since July 16, 2024[1]
Reports toUnder Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
NominatorPresident of the United States
Inaugural holderRonald I. Spiers
Formation1969
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs is a position within the U.S. Department of State that manages the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, charged with linking the Department of Defense and the Department of State by providing policy in the areas of international security, security assistance, military operations, defense strategy and policy, military use of space, and defense trade. The Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

When the Department of State originally established the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs on September 18, 1969, the bureau had replaced a special component for politico-military affairs that had served under the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs since 1960. The head of the Bureau had the title of Director of the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, and was designated by the Secretary of State, but still held rank equivalent to Assistant Secretary. Later, the director became appointed by the President, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, and the title of the head of the Bureau was changed to Assistant Secretary on April 14, 1986.[2]

List of directors of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, 1969–1985

[edit]
# Name Assumed office Left office President served under
1 Ronald I. Spiers September 18, 1969 August 2, 1973 Richard Nixon
2 Seymour Weiss August 6, 1973 January 17, 1974
3 George S. Vest April 29, 1974 March 27, 1977 Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
4 Leslie H. Gelb February 23, 1977 June 30, 1979 Jimmy Carter
5 Reginald H. Bartholomew July 1, 1979 January 20, 1981
6 Richard R. Burt January 23, 1981 February 17, 1982 Ronald Reagan
7 Jonathan Howe May 10, 1982 July 1, 1984
8 John T. Chain, Jr. July 1, 1984 June 14, 1985

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Political-Military Affairs, 1986–present

[edit]
# Name Assumed office Left office President served under
9 H. Allen Holmes July 19, 1985 August 8, 1989 Ronald Reagan
10 Richard A. Clarke August 8, 1989 July 10, 1992 George H. W. Bush
11 Robert Gallucci July 13, 1992 October 11, 1994 George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
12 Thomas E. McNamara October 12, 1994 January 9, 1998 Bill Clinton
13 Eric D. Newsom November 2, 1998 December 31, 2000
14 Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr. May 31, 2001 January 20, 2005 George W. Bush
15 John Hillen October 11, 2005 January 11, 2007[3]
- Stephen D. Mull (Acting) January 11, 2007 August 8, 2008
16 Mark Kimmitt August 8, 2008 January 20, 2009
17 Andrew J. Shapiro June 22, 2009 April 19, 2013 Barack Obama
- Thomas P. Kelly III (Acting) April 19, 2013 April 9, 2014
18 Puneet Talwar April 9, 2014 November 2015
19 R. Clarke Cooper May 2, 2019 January 20, 2021 Donald Trump
- Timothy Alan Betts (Acting) January 20, 2021 September 30, 2021 Joe Biden
20 Jessica Lewis September 30, 2021 July 16, 2024
- Stanley L. Brown (Acting) July 16, 2024 Incumbent

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Stanley L. Brown".
  2. ^ "Assistant Secretaries of State for Politico-Military Affairs". Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  3. ^ "Hillen, John". Retrieved December 7, 2008.