United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Reports to	The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Appointer	The President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Archibald MacLeish
Formation	1944
Abolished	May 28, 2019
Succession	Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs
Website	Official Website

The Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs was the head of the Bureau of Public Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs reports to the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. On May 28, 2019, the bureau merged with the Bureau of International Information Programs into the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, and the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State merged into the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs.^[1]

History

The position was first created in December 1944 as the Assistant Secretary of State for Public and Cultural Relations.^[2] It was later changed to its current name in 1946.^[2] Initially, incumbents supervised the forerunners of the United States Information Agency and the Voice of America.^[2] Under the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011, the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs does not require Senate confirmation.^[2]

Historically, the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs had a dual role as the Spokesperson for the State Department. From 2011 to 2015, the Assistant Secretary and the State Department Spokesperson were two separate roles held by different people.^[3]^[4] In late 2015, the two roles were once again merged with the appointment of Spokesperson John Kirby as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.^[5]

On May 28, 2019, the bureau merged with the Bureau of International Information Programs into the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, and the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State merged into the duties of the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs.^[6]

Assistant Secretaries of State for Public Affairs, 1944—2019

Image	Name	Assumed office	Left office	President appointed by
	Archibald MacLeish	December 20, 1944	August 17, 1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt
	William Benton	September 17, 1945	September 30, 1947	Harry Truman
	George V. Allen	March 31, 1948	November 28, 1949
	Edward W. Barrett	February 16, 1950	February 20, 1952
	Howland H. Sargeant	February 21, 1952	January 29, 1953
	Carl McCardle	January 30, 1953	March 1, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower
	Andrew H. Berding	March 28, 1957	March 9, 1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
	Roger Tubby	March 10, 1961	April 1, 1962	John F. Kennedy
	Robert Manning	April 11, 1962	July 31, 1964	John F. Kennedy
	James L. Greenfield	September 10, 1964	March 12, 1966	Lyndon B. Johnson
	Dixon Donnelley	March 22, 1966	January 31, 1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
	Michael Collins	January 6, 1970	April 11, 1971	Richard Nixon
	Carol Laise	October 10, 1973	March 27, 1975	Richard Nixon
	John Reinhardt	April 22, 1975	March 22, 1977	Gerald Ford
	Hodding Carter III	March 25, 1977	June 30, 1980	Jimmy Carter
	William J. Dyess	August 29, 1980	July 30, 1981	Jimmy Carter
	Dean E. Fischer	August 7, 1981	August 19, 1982	Ronald Reagan
	Robert John Hughes	August 20, 1982	January 1, 1985
	Bernard Kalb	August 12, 1985	October 8, 1986
	Charles E. Redman	June 29, 1987	March 1, 1989
	Margaret D. Tutwiler	March 3, 1989	August 23, 1992	George H. W. Bush
	Thomas E. Donilon	April 1, 1993	November 7, 1996	Bill Clinton
	James Rubin	August 7, 1997	April 2, 2000
	Richard Boucher	January 5, 2001	June 2, 2005
	Sean McCormack	June 2, 2005	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
	Philip J. Crowley	May 26, 2009	March 13, 2011	Barack Obama
	Michael A. Hammer	March 30, 2012	August 30, 2013
	Douglas Frantz	September 3, 2013	October 1, 2015
	John Kirby	December 11, 2015	January 20, 2017
	Susan Stevenson (Acting)	January 20, 2017	February 3, 2018	Donald Trump
	Michelle Giuda	February 3, 2018	May 28, 2019^[7]	Donald Trump
Office abolished Replaced by Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs

References

External links

United States Assistant Secretaries of State (and equivalent ranks)

United States Assistant Secretaries of State (and equivalent ranks)
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs	African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Energy Resources Chief Economist of the Department
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security	Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political-Military Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Educational and Cultural Affairs Global Public Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Management	Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Chief Information Officer of the Department Chief Medical Officer and Designated Agency Safety and Health Official Comptroller of the Department and Director of Global Financial Services Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent Director of Budget and Planning Director of Overseas Buildings Operations Director, Foreign Service Institute Director, Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador Director, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Conflict and Stabilization Operations Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Population, Refugees, and Migration Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (Ambassador-at-Large) Global Criminal Justice (Ambassador-at-Large)
Reporting directly to the Secretary	Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department Inspector General Legal Adviser Director, Policy Planning Staff Director, Office of Foreign Assistance Director, Office of Civil Rights and Chief Diversity Officer Chief of Protocol of the United States, with the rank of Ambassador Global Women's Issues (Ambassador-at-Large) Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (Ambassador-at-Large)