Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

United States
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
	Incumbent; Jennifer Hall Godfrey; (Acting); since January 20, 2021
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Evelyn S. Lieberman
Formation	1999
Website	Official Website

The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is currently a top-10 ranking position^[1] in the U.S. Department of State that is intended to help ensure that public diplomacy is practiced in combination with public affairs and traditional diplomacy to advance U.S. interests and security. The Under Secretary oversees three bureaus at the Department of State: Educational and Cultural Affairs, Public Affairs, and International Information Programs. Also reporting to the Under Secretary are 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.

The duties of Under Secretary were filled in an acting capacity by Michelle Giuda until her return to private industry in March of 2020.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] After Giuda, Ulrich Brechbuhl filled in an acting capacity starting on March 3, 2020.^[7] Nilda Pedrosa filled the role in an acting capacity from September 28, 2020 to January 20, 2021.^[8]

As of January 20, 2021, Jennifer Hall Godfrey is the acting Under Secretary, by designation.^[9]

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). Looking at the last three administrations, the office was without a confirmed Under Secretary for 37.2% of the Bush Administration, 21.8% of the Obama Administration, and 89.4% of the Trump Administration (as of August 29, 2019).^[10]

List of Under Secretaries of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs[]

Name	In office	President(s) served under
Evelyn S. Lieberman	October 1, 1999 – January 19, 2001	Bill Clinton
Charlotte Beers	October 2, 2001 – March 28, 2003	George W. Bush
Margaret D. Tutwiler	December 16, 2003 – June 30, 2004
Karen Hughes	September 9, 2005 – December 14, 2007
James K. Glassman	June 10, 2008 – January 15, 2009
Judith McHale	May 26, 2009 – July 1, 2011	Barack Obama
Kathleen Stephens	February 6, 2012 – April 4, 2012 (Acting)
Tara Sonenshine	April 5, 2012 – July 1, 2013
Richard Stengel	February 11, 2014 – December 7, 2016
Bruce Wharton	December 8, 2016 – July 2017 (Acting)	Barack Obama Donald Trump
Steve Goldstein	December 4, 2017 – March 13, 2018	Donald Trump
Heather Nauert	March 13, 2018 – October 10, 2018 (Acting)
Michelle Giuda	February 5, 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 – Present (Acting by designation)	Joseph Biden

References[]

^ U.S. State Department organization chart on State Dept. website
^ State Department Facebook announcement of Michelle Giuda as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
^ State Department Instagram announcement of Michelle Giuda as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
^ State Department Twitter announcement of Michelle Giuda as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
^ Michelle Giuda State Department bio stating appointment
^ "Michelle Giuda rejoins Weber Shandwick as EVP of geopolitical strategy, risk".
^ "T. Ulrich Brechbuhl". 2017-2021.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
^ "Nilda R. Pedrosa". United States Department of State. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
^ "Jennifer Hall Godfrey". state.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
^ The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs: an updated incumbency chart and some background

External links[]

[1] U.S. State Department organization chart on State Dept. website

[2] State Department Facebook announcement of Michelle Giuda as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

[3] State Department Instagram announcement of Michelle Giuda as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

[4] State Department Twitter announcement of Michelle Giuda as Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

[5] Michelle Giuda State Department bio stating appointment

[Giuda-Weber-Shadwick-6] "Michelle Giuda rejoins Weber Shandwick as EVP of geopolitical strategy, risk".

[brechbuhl-7] "T. Ulrich Brechbuhl". 2017-2021.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-26.

[pedrosa-8] "Nilda R. Pedrosa". United States Department of State. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

[godfrey-9] "Jennifer Hall Godfrey". state.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-26.

[10] The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs: an updated incumbency chart and some background

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v t United States Department of State
Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building Antony Blinken, Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State Brian P. McKeon, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources	Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office of the U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region
Under Secretary for Political Affairs	Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of International Organization Affairs (United States Mission to the United Nations) Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Office of the Chief Economist Office of Global Partnerships Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security	Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs International Security Advisory Board
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Global Public Affairs Global Engagement Center Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy International Expositions Unit Special Advisor for Global Youth Issues
Under Secretary for Management	Bureau of Administration Bureau of Budget and Planning Bureau of Consular Affairs Bureau of Diplomatic Security Bureau of Global Talent Management Bureau of Information Resource Management Bureau of Medical Services Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services Foreign Service Institute (Office of the Historian) Office of Foreign Missions Director of Diplomatic Reception Rooms Office of Management Strategy and Solutions Office of White House Liaison
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of International Religious Freedom Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Bureaus/Offices reporting directly to the Secretary	Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Office of the Counselor Executive Secretariat (Operations Center) Office of Foreign Assistance Office of Civil Rights Office of Inspector General Office of the Legal Adviser Policy Planning Staff (Foreign Affairs Policy Board) Secretary's Open Forum Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of Global Women's Issues Office of the Ombudsman Foreign Service Grievance Board Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Office of the Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Office of the Special Representative for Iran Office of the Special Representative for Syria Engagement Office of the Special Representative for Venezuela Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority Chief of Staff

United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Jennifer Hall Godfrey (Acting) since January 20, 2021
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Evelyn S. Lieberman
Formation	1999
Website	Official Website