United States Assistant Secretary of State

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The Assistant Secretary of State, from 1853 until 1913, was the second-ranking official within the American Department of State. Prior to 1853, the Chief Clerk was the second-ranking officer, and after 1913, the Counselor was the second-ranking position, though the Assistant Secretary continued to be a position until 1924. Specific duties of the incumbents varied over the years and included such responsibilities as supervising the Diplomatic and Consular Bureaus, general supervision of correspondence, consular appointments, administration of the Department, and supervision of economic matters and various geographic divisions. Today, the title of the second-ranking position is the Deputy Secretary of State.

In modern times, Assistant Secretary of State is a title used for many executive positions in the United States State Department. A set of six Assistant Secretaries reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions, plus one Assistant Secretary dealing with international organizations, and another dealing with working with other countries on narcotics issues. Assistant Secretaries usually manage individual bureaus of the Department of State. When the manager of a bureau or another agency holds a title other than Assistant Secretary, such as "Director," it can be said to be of "Assistant Secretary equivalent rank."

[edit] List of Assistant Secretaries of State

#	Name	State of Residency	Term of Office	President(s) served under	Secretary of State(s) served under
1	Ambrose Dudley Mann	Virginia	March 23, 1853 - May 8, 1855	Franklin Pierce	William L. Marcy
2	William Hunter^[1]	Rhode Island	May 9, 1855 - October 31, 1855	Franklin Pierce	William L. Marcy
3	John Addison Thomas	New York	November 1, 1855 - April 3, 1857	Franklin Pierce James Buchanan	William L. Marcy Lewis Cass
4	John Appleton	Maine	April 4, 1857 - June 10, 1860	James Buchanan	Lewis Cass
5	William H. Trescot	South Carolina	June 8, 1860 - December 20, 1860	James Buchanan	Lewis Cass Jeremiah S. Black
6	Frederick W. Seward	New York	March 6, 1861 - March 4, 1869	Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson	William H. Seward
7	J.C. Bancroft Davis	New York	March 25, 1869 - November 13, 1871	Ulysses S. Grant	Hamilton Fish
8	Charles Hale	Massachusetts	February 19, 1872 - January 24, 1873	Ulysses S. Grant	Hamilton Fish
9	J.C. Bancroft Davis	New York	January 24, 1873 - January 30, 1874	Ulysses S. Grant	Hamilton Fish
10	John Cadwalader	Pennsylvania	June 17, 1874 - March 20, 1877	Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes	Hamilton Fish William M. Evarts
11	Frederick W. Seward	New York	March 16, 1877 - October 31, 1879	Rutherford B. Hayes	William M. Evarts
12	John Hay	Ohio	November 1, 1879 - May 3, 1881	Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield	William M. Evarts James G. Blaine
13	Robert R. Hitt	Illinois	May 4, 1881 - December 19, 1881	James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur	James G. Blaine
14	J.C. Bancroft Davis	New York	December 19, 1881 - July 7, 1882	Chester A. Arthur	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
15	John Davis	Washington DC	July 7, 1882 - February 23, 1885	Chester A. Arthur	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
16	James D. Porter	Tennessee	March 20, 1885 - September 17, 1887	Grover Cleveland	Thomas F. Bayard
17	George L. Rives	New York	November 19, 1887 - March 5, 1889	Grover Cleveland	Thomas F. Bayard
18	William F. Wharton^[2]	Massachusetts	April 2, 1889 - March 20, 1893	Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland	James G. Blaine John W. Foster Walter Q. Gresham
19	Josiah Quincy	Massachusetts	March 20, 1893 - September 22, 1893	Grover Cleveland	Walter Q. Gresham
20	Edwin F. Uhl^[2]	Michigan	November 1, 1893 - February 11, 1896	Grover Cleveland	Walter Q. Gresham Richard Olney
21	William Woodville Rockhill	Maryland	February 11, 1896 - May 10, 1897	Grover Cleveland William McKinley	Richard Olney John Sherman
22	William R. Day	Ohio	May 3, 1897 - April 27, 1898	William McKinley	John Sherman
23	John B. Moore	New York	April 27, 1898 - September 16, 1898	William McKinley	William R. Day
24	David J. Hill	New York	October 25, 1898 - January 28, 1903	William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt	John Hay
25	Francis B. Loomis^[2]	Ohio	January 7, 1903 - October 10, 1905	Theodore Roosevelt	John Hay Elihu Root
26	Robert Bacon	New York	September 5, 1905 - January 27, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt	Elihu Root
27	John Callan O'Laughlin	Washington DC	January 27, 1909 - March 5, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt	Robert Bacon
28	Huntington Wilson	Illinois	March 5, 1909 - March 19, 1913	William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson	Philander C. Knox William Jennings Bryan
29	John E. Osborne	Wyoming	April 21, 1913 - December 14, 1916	Thomas Woodrow Wilson	William Jennings Bryan Robert Lansing
30	William Phillips	Massachusetts	January 24, 1917 - March 25, 1920	Thomas Woodrow Wilson	Robert Lansing Bainbridge Colby
31	Fred Morris Dearing	Missouri	March 11, 1921 - February 28, 1922	Warren G. Harding	Charles Evans Hughes
32	Leland B. Harrison	Illinois	March 31, 1922 - June 30, 1924	Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge	Charles Evans Hughes

[edit] Second Assistant Secretary of State

The Consular and Diplomatic Appropriations Act for the year ending June 30, 1867 authorized the President to appoint a Second Assistant Secretary of State. Duties of incumbents varied less over the years than did those of the other Assistant Secretary positions. Responsibilities included: supervision of correspondence with diplomatic officers; preparation of drafts of treaties, conventions, diplomatic notes, and instructions; detailed treatment of current diplomatic and political questions; approval of correspondence for the signature of the Secretary of Acting Secretary; and consultation on matters of diplomatic procedure, international law and policy, and traditional practices of the Department. The Foreign Service Act of 1924 abolished numerical titles for Assistant Secretaries of State. Only two people have served the position from 1866 to 1924.

#	Picture	Name	State of Residency	Term of Office	President(s) served under	Secretary of State(s) served under
1		William Hunter	Rhode Island	July 27, 1866 - July 22, 1886	Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland	William H. Seward Elihu Benjamin Washburne Hamilton Fish William Maxwell Evarts James Gillespie Blaine Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.
2		Alvey A. Adee	District of Columbia	August 3, 1886 - June 30, 1924	Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft Thomas Woodrow Wilson Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge	Thomas F. Bayard, Sr. James Gillespie Blaine John Watson Foster Walter Quintin Gresham Richard Olney John Sherman William Rufus Day John Milton Hay Elihu Root Robert Bacon Philander Chase Knox William Jennings Bryan Robert Lansing Bainbridge Colby Charles Evans Hughes