Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs

United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for Political-Military Affairs
United States; Assistant Secretary of State; for Political-Military Affairs
	Seal of the United States Department of State
	Incumbent; Tina Kaidanow; Acting since February 22, 2016
Reports to	Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Ronald I. Spiers
Formation	1969
Website	Official Website

The Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs is a position within the U.S. Department of State that manages the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, charged with linking the Department of Defense and the Department of State by providing policy in the areas of international security, security assistance, military operations, defense strategy and policy, military use of space, and defense trade. The Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

Tina Kaidanow currently serves as Acting Assistant Secretary.^[1]

When the Department of State originally established the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs on September 18, 1969, the bureau had replaced a special component for politico-military affairs that had served under the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs since 1960. The head of the Bureau had the title of Director of the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, and was designated by the Secretary of State, but still held rank equivalent to Assistant Secretary. Later, the director became appointed by the President, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, and the title of the head of the Bureau was changed to Assistant Secretary on April 14, 1986.^[2]

List of Directors of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, 1969–1985

Name	Assumed Office	Left Office	President served under
Ronald I. Spiers	September 18, 1969	August 2, 1973	Richard Nixon
Seymour Weiss	August 6, 1973	January 17, 1974	Richard Nixon
George S. Vest	April 29, 1974	March 27, 1977	Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
Leslie H. Gelb	February 23, 1977	June 30, 1979	Jimmy Carter
Reginald H. Bartholomew	July 1, 1979	January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
Richard R. Burt	January 23, 1981	February 17, 1982	Ronald Reagan
Jonathan Howe	May 10, 1982	July 1, 1984	Ronald Reagan
John T. Chain, Jr.	July 1, 1984	June 14, 1985	Ronald Reagan

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for Political-Military Affairs, 1986–present

Name	Assumed Office	Left Office	President served under
H. Allen Holmes	July 19, 1985	August 8, 1989	Ronald Reagan
Richard A. Clarke	August 8, 1989	July 10, 1992	George H. W. Bush
Robert Gallucci	July 13, 1992	October 11, 1994	George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
Thomas E. McNamara	October 12, 1994	January 9, 1998	Bill Clinton
Eric D. Newsom	November 2, 1998	December 31, 2000	Bill Clinton
Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Jr.	May 31, 2001	January 20, 2005	George W. Bush
John Hillen	October 11, 2005	January 11, 2007^[3]	George W. Bush
Mark Kimmitt	August 8, 2008	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
Andrew J. Shapiro	June 22, 2009	April 19, 2013	Barack Obama
Tom Kelly	April 19, 2013	April 2014	Barack Obama
Puneet Talwar	April 9, 2014	November 2015	Barack Obama

References

^ "Bureau of Counterterrorism's Tina Kaidanow Moves to Pol-Mil Affairs, Justin Siberell Now Acting Coordinator". Diplopundit. March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
^ "Assistant Secretaries of State for Politico-Military Affairs". Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "Hillen, John". Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[1] "Bureau of Counterterrorism's Tina Kaidanow Moves to Pol-Mil Affairs, Justin Siberell Now Acting Coordinator". Diplopundit. March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.

[a-2] "Assistant Secretaries of State for Politico-Military Affairs". Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[3] "Hillen, John". Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

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v t e United States assistant secretaries of state (and equivalent ranks)
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