The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. 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 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 Lawrence Eagleburger in 1992, Warren Christopher in 1993, and Antony Blinken in 2021.
List of under secretaries of state (until 1972)
1919–1920: Frank Polk 1920–1921: Norman Davis 1921–1922: Henry P. Fletcher 1922–1924: William Phillips (first stint) 1924–1927: Joseph Grew (first stint) 1927–1928: Robert E. Olds 1928–1929: J. Reuben Clark 1929–1931: Joseph P. Cotton 1931–1933: William R. Castle Jr. 1933–1936: William Phillips (second stint) 1937–1943: Sumner Welles 1943–1944: Edward Stettinius Jr. 1944–1945: Joseph Grew (second stint) 1945–1947: Dean Acheson 1947–1949: Robert A. Lovett 1949–1952: James E. Webb 1952–1953: David K. E. Bruce 1953–1954: Walter Bedell Smith 1954–1957: Herbert Hoover Jr. 1957–1959: Christian Herter 1959–1961: C. Douglas Dillon 1961: Chester Bowles 1961–1966: George Ball 1966–1969: Nicholas Katzenbach 1969–1970: Elliot Richardson 1970–1972: John N. Irwin II
List of deputy secretaries of state #PortraitNameTerm beganTerm endedPresident(s) served under1John N. Irwin IIJuly 13, 1972February 1, 1973Richard Nixon2Kenneth RushFebruary 2, 1973May 29, 19743Robert S. IngersollJuly 10, 1974March 31, 1976Gerald Ford4Charles W. RobinsonApril 9, 1976January 20, 19775Warren ChristopherFebruary 26, 1977January 16, 1981Jimmy Carter6William P. Clark Jr.February 25, 1981February 9, 1982Ronald Reagan7Walter J. Stoessel Jr.February 11, 1982September 22, 19828Kenneth W. DamSeptember 23, 1982June 15, 19859John C. WhiteheadJuly 9, 1985January 20, 198910Lawrence EagleburgerJanuary 20, 1989December 8, 1992George H. W. Bush11Clifton R. Wharton Jr.January 27, 1993November 8, 1993Bill Clinton12Strobe TalbottFebruary 22, 1994January 19, 200113Richard ArmitageMarch 26, 2001February 22, 2005George W. Bush14Robert ZoellickFebruary 22, 2005July 7, 200615John NegroponteFebruary 13, 2007January 28, 200916James SteinbergJanuary 28, 2009July 28, 2011Barack Obama17William J. BurnsJuly 28, 2011November 3, 2014–Wendy Sherman ActingNovember 3, 2014January 9, 201518Antony BlinkenJanuary 9, 2015January 20, 2017–Thomas A. Shannon Jr.ActingFebruary 1, 2017May 24, 2017Donald Trump19John J. SullivanMay 24, 2017December 20, 201920Stephen BiegunDecember 21, 2019January 20, 2021–Daniel Bennett SmithActingJanuary 26, 2021April 14, 2021Joe Biden21Wendy ShermanApril 14, 2021July 28, 2023–Victoria NulandActingJuly 29, 2023February 12, 202422Kurt M. CampbellFebruary 12, 2024January 20, 202523Christopher LandauMarch 25, 2025IncumbentDonald Trump
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