Legal Adviser of the United States Department of State
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Richard C. Visek^[1] Acting since January 20, 2021
Reports to	United States Secretary of State
Inaugural holder	Green Hackworth
Formation	1931
Website	Official Website

The Legal Adviser of the Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State. The legal adviser provides legal advice on all problems (domestic and international) arising in the course of the department's activities. The legal adviser heads the State Department's Office of the Legal Adviser. As such, the legal adviser has the rank of Assistant Secretary.^[2]^[3]

History

From 1870 to 1891, the examiner of claims had been the chief legal officer of the department. The solicitor, a Department of Justice employee, had functioned as the Department of State's chief legal officer from 1891 to 1931. Solicitors and examiners of claims were by statute officials of the Department of Justice. The position of Legal Advisor was created by an Act of Congress on February 23, 1931 (P.L. 71-715; 46 Stat. 1214). The first legal adviser was Green Hackworth, who served until 1946 and then became a judge on the International Court of Justice.

List of legal advisers of the Department of State

Name	Assumed office	Left office	President served under
Green Hackworth	July 1, 1931^[4]	March 1, 1946	Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
Charles H. Fahy	June 19, 1946	August 15, 1947	Harry S. Truman
Ernest A. Gross	August 16, 1947	March 3, 1949	Harry S. Truman
Adrian S. Fisher	June 28, 1949	January 27, 1953	Harry S. Truman
Herman Phleger	February 2, 1953	April 1, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Loftus Becker	June 13, 1957	August 15, 1959	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eric H. Hager	September 9, 1959	January 20, 1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Abram Chayes	February 6, 1961	June 27, 1964	John F. Kennedy
Leonard C. Meeker	May 18, 1965	July 13, 1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
John Reese Stevenson	July 14, 1969	January 1, 1973	Richard Nixon
Carlyle E. Maw	November 27, 1973	July 9, 1974	Richard Nixon
Monroe Leigh	January 21, 1975	January 20, 1977	Gerald Ford
Herbert J. Hansell	April 8, 1977	September 20, 1979	Jimmy Carter
Roberts Bishop Owen	October 4, 1979	February 16, 1981	Jimmy Carter
Davis Rowland Robinson	July 30, 1981	February 27, 1985	Ronald Reagan
Abraham David Sofaer	June 10, 1985	June 15, 1990	Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush
Edwin D. Williamson	September 20, 1990	January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
Conrad K. Harper	May 24, 1993	June 30, 1996	Bill Clinton
David Andrews	September 2, 1997	April 25, 2000	Bill Clinton
William Howard Taft IV	April 16, 2001	March 1, 2005	George W. Bush
John B. Bellinger III	April 6, 2005	March 23, 2009^[5]	George W. Bush, Barack Obama
Joan E. Donoghue (acting)	March 23, 2009	June 25, 2009	Barack Obama
Harold Hongju Koh	June 25, 2009	January 22, 2013	Barack Obama
Mary McLeod (acting)	January 23, 2013	February 1, 2016	Barack Obama
Brian Egan	February 2, 2016	January 20, 2017	Barack Obama
Richard C. Visek (acting)	January 20, 2017	January 22, 2018	Donald Trump
Jennifer Gillian Newstead	January 22, 2018	May 31, 2019
Marik String (acting)	June 1, 2019	January 20, 2021
Richard C. Visek (acting)	January 20, 2021		Joe Biden

References

^ "Richard C. Visek". state.gov. January 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
^ "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". state.gov. January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ "Department Organization Chart". state.gov. March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ Initially commissioned during a Senate recess; subsequently confirmed and re-commissioned on December 17, 1931.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2009.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

v t e United States Department of State
Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building Antony Blinken, Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell, Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma, 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 Foreign Assistance Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy 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 Counterterrorism 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 Food Security 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 International Expositions Unit Office of Global Youth Issues Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
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 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	Chief of Staff Office of the Counselor Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat (Operations Center) Policy Planning Staff (Foreign Affairs Policy Board) Office of Civil Rights Office of Diversity and Inclusion Office of Global Women's Issues Office of Inspector General Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of the Legal Adviser Office of the Ombudsman Office of the Secretary's Special Representative for Syria Engagement Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Office of the Special Representative for Venezuela Office of the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Iran Action Group Foreign Service Grievance Board Secretary's Open Forum

v t e 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)