The assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs is the head of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and advises the secretary of state and the under secretary for political affairs on matters relating to the area.
The Department of State established the position of assistant secretary of state for Far Eastern affairs in 1949, after the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level and after Congress increased the number of assistant secretaries of state from six to ten. On November 1, 1966, the department by administrative action changed the incumbent's designation to assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs. The Division of Far Eastern Affairs, established in 1908, was the first geographical division to be established in the Department of State.
List of assistant secretaries of state for Far Eastern affairs, 1949–1966 #ImageNameAssumed officeLeft officePresident served under1William Walton ButterworthButterworth was initially appointed as "Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs." On March 20, 1950, his title was changed to "Assistant Secretary of State for Japanese Affairs."September 29, 1949July 4, 1950Harry S. Truman2Dean RuskMarch 28, 1950December 9, 19513John Moore AllisonFebruary 1, 1952April 7, 19534Walter S. RobertsonApril 8, 1953June 30, 1959Dwight D. Eisenhower5J. Graham ParsonsJuly 1, 1959March 30, 19616Walter P. McConaughyApril 24, 1961December 3, 1961John F. Kennedy7W. Averell HarrimanDecember 4, 1961Initially commissioned during a recess of the Senate. He was later confirmed and re-commissioned on March 5, 1962.April 3, 19638Roger HilsmanMay 9, 1963March 15, 1964John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
List of assistant secretaries of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, 1966–present #ImageNameAssumed officeLeft officePresident served under9William BundyMarch 16, 1964May 4, 1969Lyndon B. Johnson10Marshall GreenMay 5, 1969May 10, 1973Richard Nixon -G. McMurtrie GodleyGodley was never commissioned and President Nixon withdrew his nomination before the Senate acted upon it.11Robert S. IngersollJanuary 8, 1974July 9, 197412Philip HabibSeptember 27, 1974June 30, 1976Gerald Ford13Arthur W. Hummel, Jr.July 12, 1976March 14, 197714Richard HolbrookeMarch 31, 1977January 13, 1981Jimmy Carter15John H. HoldridgeMay 28, 1981December 9, 1982Ronald Reagan16Paul WolfowitzDecember 22, 1982March 12, 198617Gaston J. Sigur, Jr.March 12, 1986February 21, 1989 -Richard ArmitageNomination withdrawn.George H. W. Bush18Richard H. SolomonJune 23, 1989July 10, 199219William Clark, Jr.July 10, 1992April 23, 199320Winston LordApril 23, 1993February 18, 1997Bill Clinton21Stanley O. RothAugust 5, 1997January 20, 200122James A. KellyMay 1, 2001January 31, 2005George W. Bush -Evans J.R. Revere (acting)February 1, 2005April 8, 200523Christopher R. HillApril 8, 2005April 21, 2009George W. Bush and Barack Obama24Kurt M. CampbellJune 2, 2009February 8, 2013Barack Obama25Daniel R. RusselJuly 12, 2013March 8, 2017Barack Obama and Donald Trump -Susan Thornton (acting)March 9, 2017July 7, 2018Donald Trump -W. Patrick Murphy (acting)July 2018June 201926David R. StilwellJune 20, 2019January 20, 2021 -Sung Kim (acting)January 20, 2021June 4, 2021 Joe Biden -Kin W. Moy (acting)June 15, 2021September 24, 202127Daniel KritenbrinkSeptember 24, 2021January 17, 2025 -Sean O'Neill (acting)January 20, 2025July 18, 2025Donald Trump -Y. Kevin Kim (acting)July 18, 2025October 10, 202528Michael G. DeSombreOctober 10, 2025Present
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