United States Deputy Secretary of State
Deputy Secretary of State of the United States of America | |
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![]() Seal of the Department of State | |
![]() Flag of the Deputy Secretary of State | |
Department of State | |
Reports to | The United States Secretary of State |
Seat | Washington, D.C. |
Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
Term length | No fixed term |
Formation | July 13, 1972 |
First holder | John N. Irwin II |
Salary | Executive Schedule, Level 2 |
Website | Official website |
The Deputy Secretary of State of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. The current deputy Secretary of State is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under secretary of state Antony Blinken.[1] If the secretary of state resigns or dies, the deputy secretary of state becomes acting secretary of state until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement. The position was created in 1972. Prior to July 13, 1972, the Under Secretary of State had been the second ranking officer of the Department of State. The position is currently held by Wendy Sherman.
The State Department is the only federal Cabinet-level agency to have two co-equal Deputy Secretaries. The second Deputy Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, serves as the "first assistant" for the purposes of the Vacancies Reform Act, but both deputy secretaries have full delegated authority to act for the secretary, if not otherwise prohibited by law.
Certain Deputy Secretaries of State went on to become appointed as the Secretary of State, such as Warren Christopher in 1992[2] and Lawrence Eagleburger in 1993 under President William Jefferson Clinton,[3] and Antony Blinken, as the Secretary of State under President Joe Biden in 2021.[4]
List of deputy secretaries of state[]
# | Portrait | Name | Term began | Term ended | President(s) served under |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
John N. Irwin II | July 13, 1972 | February 1, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
2 | ![]() |
Kenneth Rush | February 2, 1973 | May 29, 1974 | |
3 | ![]() |
Robert S. Ingersoll | July 10, 1974 | March 31, 1976 | |
Gerald Ford | |||||
4 | Charles W. Robinson | April 9, 1976 | January 20, 1977 | ||
5 | ![]() |
Warren Christopher | February 26, 1977 | January 16, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
6 | ![]() |
William P. Clark Jr. | February 25, 1981 | February 9, 1982 | Ronald Reagan |
7 | ![]() |
Walter J. Stoessel Jr. | February 11, 1982 | September 22, 1982 | |
8 | ![]() |
Kenneth W. Dam | September 23, 1982 | June 15, 1985 | |
9 | ![]() |
John C. Whitehead | July 9, 1985 | January 20, 1989 | |
10 | ![]() |
Lawrence Eagleburger | January 20, 1989 | December 8, 1992 | George H. W. Bush |
11 | Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | January 27, 1993 | November 8, 1993 | Bill Clinton | |
12 | ![]() |
Strobe Talbott | February 22, 1994 | January 19, 2001 | |
13 | ![]() |
Richard Armitage | March 26, 2001 | February 22, 2005 | George W. Bush |
14 | ![]() |
Robert Zoellick | February 22, 2005 | July 7, 2006 | |
15 | ![]() |
John Negroponte | February 13, 2007 | January 28, 2009 | |
16 | ![]() |
James Steinberg | January 28, 2009 | July 28, 2011 | Barack Obama |
17 | ![]() |
William J. Burns | July 28, 2011 | November 3, 2014 | |
– | ![]() |
Wendy Sherman Acting |
November 3, 2014 | January 9, 2015 | |
18 | ![]() |
Antony Blinken | January 9, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | |
– | ![]() |
Thomas A. Shannon Jr. Acting |
February 1, 2017 | May 24, 2017 | Donald Trump |
19 | ![]() |
John J. Sullivan | May 24, 2017 | December 20, 2019 | |
20 | ![]() |
Stephen Biegun | December 21, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | |
21 | ![]() |
Wendy Sherman | April 14, 2021 | Incumbent | Joe Biden |
References[]
- ^ "1 FAM 030 Office of the Deputy Secretary of State (D)". U.S. Department of State. April 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ^ "Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Warren Minor Christopher (1925–2011)". U.S. Department of State. n.d. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ^ "Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger (1930–2011)". U.S. Department of State. n.d. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ^ "Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Antony Blinken (1962–)". U.S. Department of State. n.d. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
External links[]
- United States Department of State
- United States Deputy Secretaries of State
- United States Deputy Secretaries
- 1972 introductions
- United States diplomacy