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Counselor of the United States Department of State

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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 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] Historically, the role was appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the United States Senate as authorized by 22 U.S. Code § 2651a[4] as one of four "other senior officials."[5]

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[6] 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[7] 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[8] 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[9][10] 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. ^ a b "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. ^ 22 U.S.C. § 2651a
  5. ^ "22 U.S. Code § 2651a - Organization of Department of State". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  6. ^ Initially commissioned during a Senate recess; after confirmation, re-commissioned on December 17, 1915.
  7. ^ Initially commissioned during a Senate recess; after confirmation, re-commissioned on March 5, 1962.
  8. ^ Designated, not commissioned.
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ "Tillerson presides over abrupt shakeup at State Department". CNN. February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
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