who is responsible for foreign affairs. 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
and Jacob J. Lew to the position of Deputy Secretary of State. Mr. Lew's position focuses on budget and internal management affairs, while Steinberg is in charge of policy matters. Both Steinberg and Lew were confirmed by Congress on January 28, 2009.
| Name |
Term of Office |
President(s) The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
served under |
| John N. Irwin II |
July 13, 1972–February 1, 1973 |
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
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| Kenneth Rush Kenneth Rush was a United States Ambassador who helped negotiate the ground-breaking four-power agreement in 1971 that ended the post-war crisis over Berlin...
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February 2, 1973–May 29, 1974 |
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
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Robert S. IngersollRobert S. Ingersoll is an American businessman and former diplomat. He graduated from Yale University in 1937.He served as US ambassador to Japan from 1972 to 1973, and assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1973 to 1974, both during President Richard Nixon's term in...
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July 10, 1974–March 31, 1976 |
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
, Gerald FordGerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
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Charles W. RobinsonCharles W. Robinson is an American entrepreneur who has been involved with many successful business adventures in the mining and shipping industry. He also served as United States Deputy Secretary of State and is currently president of and...
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April 9, 1976–January 20, 1977 |
Gerald FordGerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
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Warren ChristopherWarren Minor Christopher is an American diplomat, lawyer, and public servant. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State...
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February 26, 1977–January 16, 1981 |
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
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| William P. Clark |
February 25, 1981–February 9, 1982 |
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
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Walter John Stoessel, Jr.Walter John Stoessel Jr. was a U.S. diplomat.Stoessel was born in Manhattan, Kansas, but attended high school in California. He graduated from Stanford University in 1941 and later undertook graduate studies at Columbia University.Stoessel served as the U.S. ambassador to Poland from 1968 to...
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February 11, 1982–September 22, 1982 |
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
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| Kenneth W. Dam Kenneth W. Dam served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury from 2001 to 2003, where he specialized in international economic development...
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September 23, 1982–June 15, 1985 |
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
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John C. WhiteheadJohn Cunningham Whitehead , is an American banker and civil servant, currently the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation , and former chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation until he resigned in May 2006.-Biography:Born in Evanston, Illinois his family moved to...
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July 9, 1985–January 20, 1989 |
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
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Lawrence EagleburgerLawrence Sidney Eagleburger is an American statesman and former career diplomat, who served briefly as the United States Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush. Previously, he had served in lesser capacities under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W...
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January 20 1989–August 19, 1992 |
George H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States . He was also Ronald Reagan's Vice President , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence....
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| Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. Clifton Reginald Wharton, Jr. is an American economist, university president, and corporate executive who served briefly as United States Deputy Secretary of State during the Clinton Administration.
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January 27, 1993–November 8, 1993 |
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
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| Strobe Talbott Nelson Strobridge "Strobe" Talbott III is an American foreign policy analyst associated with Yale University and the Brookings Institution, a former journalist associated with Time magazine and diplomat who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001.-Early life:Born in Dayton, Ohio...
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February 22, 1994–January 19, 2001 |
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
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| Richard Armitage Richard Lee Armitage, Honorary KCMG was the 13th United States Deputy Secretary of State, the second-in-command at the State Department, serving from 2001 to 2005....
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March 26, 2001–February 22, 2005 |
George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
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Robert ZoellickRobert Bruce Zoellick is the eleventh president of the World Bank, a position he has held since July 1, 2007. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sachs, United States Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative, from February 7, 2001 until February 22, 2005.President...
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February 22, 2005– July 7, 2006 |
George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
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John NegroponteHon. John Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat of Greek descent. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's MacMillan Center...
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February 13, 2007– January 19, 2009 |
George W. Bush George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
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| James Steinberg James B. "Jim" Steinberg is an American academic and political advisor, and is currently Deputy Secretary of State. He was previously the Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin....
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January 28, 2009– Present |
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
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| Jacob J. Lew |
January 28, 2009– Present |
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
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