Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
The assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs is the head of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs within the United States Department of State, which handles U.S. foreign policy and relations in the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
| United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Department of State | |
 Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State | |
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| Reports to | Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs |
| Nominator | President of the United States |
| Inaugural holder | Edward Djerejian |
| Formation | 1992 |
| Website | Official Website |
The position of Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs was renamed when responsibility for policy for five countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) was transferred from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to the Bureau of South Asian Affairs, which became the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Richard A. Boucher was sworn in as the first to hold the current title on February 21, 2006 after the previous Assistant Secretary, Christina B. Rocca, left the Department.
List of assistant secretaries of state for South Asian affairs
edit| # | Name | Assumed office | Left office | President served under |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | Edward P. Djerejian[1] | August 24, 1992 | May 30, 1993[2] | George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton |
| - | James P. Covey | [3] | ||
| 1 | Robin Raphel | August 6, 1993 | June 27, 1997 | Bill Clinton |
| 2 | Karl Inderfurth | August 4, 1997 | January 19, 2001 | |
| 3 | Christina B. Rocca | June 1, 2001 | February 17, 2006 | George W. Bush |
| 4 | Richard Boucher | February 21, 2006 | January 20, 2009 | |
| 5 | Robert O. Blake, Jr. | May 26, 2009 | October 20, 2013 | Barack Obama |
| 6 | Nisha Desai Biswal | October 21, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | |
| - | William E. Todd (Acting) | January 20, 2017 | June 12, 2017 | Donald Trump |
| - | Alice G. Wells (Acting) | June 26, 2017 | June 20, 2020 | |
| - | Dean R. Thompson (Acting) | January 20, 2021 | September 15, 2021 | Joe Biden |
| 7 | Donald Lu | September 15, 2021 | present |
References
edit- ^ Edward P. Djerejian held the title of "Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs" from September 30, 1991. On August 24, 1992, he became Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. He was never formally Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
- ^ "Edward Peter Djerejian - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".
- ^ The Senate did not act upon Covey's nomination and he never became Assistant Secretary.
External links
edit- A press release from the Department of State on the creation of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
- The biography of the current Assistant Secretary at the Department of State website.
- The Department of State's list of former Assistant Secretaries
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