Counselor of the United States Department of State

The Counselor of the United States Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State that serves the Secretary of State as a special advisor and consultant on major problems of foreign policy and who provides guidance to the appropriate bureaus with respect to such matters. The Counselor conducts special international negotiations and consultations, and also undertakes special assignments from time to time, as directed by the Secretary.[1] Currently, the Counselor holds under law a rank equivalent to that of Under Secretary of State.[2] Unlike the other Under Secretaries of State, the Counselor currently does not require Senate confirmation.[3]

Counselor of the
United States Department of State
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Derek Chollet
since January 20, 2021
Reports toUnited States Secretary of State
NominatorPresident of the United States
Inaugural holderChandler P. Anderson
Formation1909
WebsiteOfficial website

The Secretary of State created the position of Counselor for the Department of State in 1909 as part of a general Department reorganization. In 1912, the position became a Presidential appointment. Between 1913 and 1919, the Counselor served as the Department's second-ranking officer, assuming the role previously exercised by the Assistant Secretary of State. In 1919, the newly created position of Under Secretary of State subsumed the duties of the Counselor. An Act of Congress, May 18, 1937, re-established the position of Counselor of the Department of State. Between 1961 and 1966, the Counselor also served as the Chairman of the Policy Planning Council. On April 30, 1994, the title was changed to Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs when Counselor Timothy E. Wirth was appointed to that position, but another Counselor was appointed in 1997.[2]

List of Counselors of the United States Department of State
Name Assumed Office Left Office President served under
Chandler P. Anderson August 23, 1912 April 22, 1913 William Howard Taft

John Bassett Moore		 April 23, 1913 March 4, 1914 Woodrow Wilson

Robert Lansing		 April 1, 1914 June 23, 1915

Frank Polk		 September 16, 1915[4] June 30, 1919

R. Walton Moore		 May 21, 1937 February 8, 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Benjamin Victor Cohen September 14, 1945 July 31, 1947 Harry S. Truman

Charles E. Bohlen		 August 1, 1947 August 3, 1949

George F. Kennan		 August 4, 1949 July 11, 1951

Charles E. Bohlen		 July 12, 1951 March 29, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower

Douglas MacArthur II		 March 30, 1953 December 16, 1956

G. Frederick Reinhardt		 March 17, 1957 February 3, 1960
Theodore Achilles March 24, 1960 February 15, 1961

George C. McGhee		 February 16, 1961 December 3, 1961 John F. Kennedy

Walt Whitman Rostow		 December 4, 1961[5] March 31, 1966 John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Robert R. Bowie September 21, 1966 April 1, 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard F. Pedersen January 24, 1969 July 26, 1973 Richard Nixon
Helmut Sonnenfeldt January 7, 1974 February 21, 1977 Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford

Matthew Nimetz		 April 8, 1977 March 19, 1980 Jimmy Carter

Rozanne L. Ridgway		 March 20, 1980 February 24, 1981

Robert McFarlane		 February 28, 1981 April 4, 1982 Ronald Reagan

James L. Buckley		 September 9, 1982 September 26, 1982

Ed Derwinski		 March 23, 1983 March 24, 1987

Max Kampelman		 July 15, 1987 January 20, 1989

Robert Zoellick		 March 2, 1989 August 23, 1992 George H. W. Bush

Tim Wirth		 April 23, 1993 April 30, 1994 Bill Clinton

Wendy Sherman		 August 6, 1997 January 20, 2001

Philip D. Zelikow		 February 1, 2005[6] January 2, 2007 George W. Bush

Eliot A. Cohen		 April 30, 2007 January 20, 2009

Cheryl Mills		 January 20, 2009 February 1, 2013 Barack Obama

Heather Higginbottom		 February 1, 2013 December 13, 2013

Tom Shannon		 December 24, 2013 February 12, 2016

Kristie Kenney		 February 12, 2016 February 17, 2017[7][8] Barack Obama
Donald Trump

Maliz E. Beams		 August 17, 2017 November 27, 2017 Donald Trump

Ulrich Brechbuhl		 May 1, 2018 January 20, 2021

Derek Chollet		 January 20, 2021 Present Joe Biden

References
  1. "Counselor of the Department". State.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  2. "Counselors". State.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  3. "@StateDept Now Has an Official Bio For New Counselor of the State Department Maliz E. Beams". Diplopundit.net. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  4. Initially commissioned during a Senate recess; after confirmation, re-commissioned on December 17, 1915.
  5. Initially commissioned during a Senate recess; after confirmation, re-commissioned on March 5, 1962.
  6. Designated, not commissioned.
  7. Confirmation of Ambassador Thomas Shannon as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Appointment of Ambassador Kristie Kenney as State Department Counselor Press Statement 2016, State.gov
  8. "Tillerson presides over abrupt shakeup at State Department". CNN. February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
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