Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs explained

Post:United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for South and Central Asian Affairs
Insignia:U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Insigniasize:120px
Insigniacaption:Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent:Donald Lu
Incumbentsince:September 15, 2021
Reports To:Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Nominator:President of the United States
Formation:1992
Inaugural:Edward Djerejian
Website:Official Website

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.

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

NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident served under
-Edward P. Djerejian[1] August 24, 1992May 30, 1993[2] George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
-[3]
1Robin RaphelAugust 6, 1993June 27, 1997Bill Clinton
2Karl InderfurthAugust 4, 1997January 19, 2001
3Christina B. RoccaJune 1, 2001February 17, 2006George W. Bush
4Richard BoucherFebruary 21, 2006January 20, 2009
5Robert O. Blake, Jr.May 26, 2009October 20, 2013Barack Obama
6Nisha Desai BiswalOctober 21, 2013January 20, 2017
-William E. Todd (Acting)January 20, 2017June 12, 2017Donald Trump
-Alice G. Wells (Acting)June 26, 2017June 20, 2020
-Dean R. Thompson (Acting)January 20, 2021September 15, 2021Joe Biden
7Donald LuSeptember 15, 2021present

External links

Notes and References

  1. 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.
  2. Web site: Edward Peter Djerejian - People - Department History - Office of the Historian .
  3. The Senate did not act upon Covey's nomination and he never became Assistant Secretary.