Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs explained

Post:United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for African Affairs
Insignia:U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Insigniasize:120
Insigniacaption:Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent:Mary Catherine Phee
Incumbentsince:September 30, 2021
Reports To:Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Nominator:President of the United States
Formation:September 1958
Inaugural:Joseph C. Satterthwaite
Website:Official Website

The Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs is the head of the Bureau of African Affairs, within the United States Department of State, who guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and advises the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.[1]

On July 18, 1958, Congress authorized an 11th Assistant Secretary of State, enabling the Department of State to create a bureau to deal with relations with the newly independent nations of Africa. At first, when the Department of State established three geographical divisions in 1909, African affairs were the responsibility of the Divisions of Near Eastern and Western European Affairs. Department Order No. 692 of June 15, 1937, transferred responsibility for all African territories except Algeria and the Union of South Africa to the Division of Near Eastern Affairs. A Division of African Affairs was created in the office of Near Eastern Affairs in January 1944. When the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs was created, there continued to be a Division of African Affairs within that bureau.[2]

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs

Source:[2]

PortraitNameAssumed officeLeft officePresident served under
1Joseph C. SatterthwaiteSeptember 2, 1958January 31, 1961Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
2G. Mennen WilliamsFebruary 1, 1961March 23, 1966John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
3Joseph Palmer IIApril 11, 1966July 7, 1969Lyndon B. Johnson
4David D. NewsomJuly 17, 1969January 13, 1974Richard Nixon
5Donald B. EasumMarch 18, 1974March 26, 1975Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
6Nathaniel DavisApril 2, 1975July 19, 1975[3]
7William E. Schaufele, Jr.December 19, 1975July 17, 1977Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
8Richard M. MooseJuly 6, 1977January 16, 1981Jimmy Carter
9Chester CrockerJune 9, 1981April 21, 1989Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush
10Herman Jay CohenMay 12, 1989February 26, 1993George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
11George MooseApril 2, 1993August 22, 1997Bill Clinton
12Susan E. RiceOctober 9, 1997January 20, 2001
-Nancy Jo Powell (Acting)January 21, 2001June 3, 2001George W. Bush
13Walter H. Kansteiner, IIIJune 4, 2001November 1, 2003
-Charles R. Snyder (Acting)[4] November 1, 2003July 24, 2004
14Constance Berry NewmanJuly 24, 2004August 26, 2005
15Jendayi FrazerAugust 29, 2005January 20, 2009
-Philip Carter (Acting)January 20, 2009May 7, 2009Barack Obama
16Johnnie CarsonMay 7, 2009March 30, 2013
-Donald Yamamoto (Acting)March 30, 2013August 5, 2013
17Linda Thomas-GreenfieldAugust 6, 2013March 10, 2017Barack Obama and Donald Trump
-Donald Yamamoto (Acting)September 5, 2017July 22, 2018Donald Trump
18Tibor P. Nagy, Jr.July 23, 2018January 20, 2021
-Robert F. Godec (Acting)January 20, 2021September 30, 2021Joe Biden
19Mary Catherine PheeSeptember 30, 2021Incumbent

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bureau of African Affairs . September 21, 2007.
  2. Web site: Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs . September 21, 2007 .
  3. Nathaniel Davis. The Angola Decision of 1975: A Personal Memoir. Foreign Affairs 57, no. 1 (1978): 109-24. https://doi.org/10.2307/20040055
  4. Web site: Snyder, Charles R.. 2001-2009.state.gov. 12 June 2017.