The under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs is currently a top-ten ranking position in the U.S. Department of State tasked to help ensure public diplomacy is practiced in combination with public affairs and traditional diplomacy to advance U.S. national interests. The under secretary oversees two bureaus at the State Department: Educational and Cultural Affairs and Global Public Affairs. 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 presidency of Bill Clinton 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.

On April 4, 2022, Elizabeth M. Allen was named acting under secretary by designation and on June 13, 2023 she was confirmed by a vote of 66–33 in the United States Senate. She assumed office on June 15, 2023.

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). The office was without a confirmed under secretary for 37.2% of the Bush administration, 21.8% of the Obama administration, and 92.9% of the first Trump administration.

List of under secretaries of state for public diplomacy and public affairs #NameIn office ImagePresident(s) served under1Evelyn S. LiebermanOctober 1, 1999 – January 19, 2001Bill Clinton2Charlotte BeersOctober 2, 2001 – March 28, 2003George W. Bush3Margaret D. TutwilerDecember 16, 2003 – June 30, 20044Karen HughesSeptember 9, 2005 – December 14, 20075James K. GlassmanJune 10, 2008 – January 15, 20096Judith McHaleMay 26, 2009 – July 1, 2011Barack Obama -Kathleen StephensFebruary 6, 2012 – April 4, 2012(Acting)7Tara SonenshineApril 5, 2012 – July 1, 20138Richard StengelFebruary 11, 2014 – December 7, 2016 -D. Bruce WhartonDecember 8, 2016 – July 2017(Acting)Barack ObamaDonald Trump9Steve GoldsteinDecember 4, 2017 – March 13, 2018 Donald Trump -Heather Nauert March 13, 2018 – October 10, 2018(Acting) -Michelle Giuda February 12, 2019 – March 3, 2020(Acting by designation) -Ulrich Brechbuhl March 3, 2020 – September 28, 2020(Acting by designation) -Nilda PedrosaSeptember 28, 2020 – January 20, 2021 (Acting by designation) -Jennifer Hall GodfreyJanuary 20, 2021 – April 1, 2022 (Acting by designation)Joe Biden10Elizabeth M. AllenApril 4, 2022 – June 15, 2023(Acting by designation)June 15, 2023 – August 2, 2024 -Lee SatterfieldAugust 3, 2024 - January 20, 2025(Acting) -Darren BeattieFebruary 4, 2025 - October 10, 2025(Acting)Donald Trump11Sarah B. RogersOctober 10, 2025 - Present

See also

United States Under Secretary of State Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Under Secretary of State for Management Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights

References

External links Website of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Publicdiplomacy.org Margaret D. Tutweiler leaves the Department of State for the New York Stock Exchange The Office of the Historian's list of former Under Secretaries