Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs

United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Linda Thomas-Greenfield since August 6, 2013
Nominator	Barack Obama
Inaugural holder	Joseph C. Satterthwaite
Formation	September 1958
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]

The current secretary is Linda Thomas-Greenfield.^[2] Previous Assistant Secretaries since the position's creation, by recency, are Johnnie Carson, Jendayi E. Frazer, Constance Berry Newman, Walter H. Kansteiner, III, Susan E. Rice, George Moose, Herman Jay Cohen, Chester A. Crocker, Richard M. Moose, William E. Schaufele, Jr., Nathaniel Davis, Donald B. Easum, David D. Newsom, Joseph Palmer II, G. Mennen Williams, and Joseph C. Satterthwaite.^[3]

On July 18, 1958, Congress authorized an eleventh 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.^[3]

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs

Name	Assumed Office	Left Office	President served under
Joseph C. Satterthwaite	September 2, 1958	January 31, 1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
G. Mennen Williams	February 1, 1961	March 23, 1966	John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Joseph Palmer II	April 11, 1966	July 7, 1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
David D. Newsom	July 17, 1969	January 13, 1974	Richard Nixon
Donald B. Easum	March 18, 1974	March 26, 1975	Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
Nathaniel Davis	April 2, 1975	December 18, 1975	Gerald Ford
William E. Schaufele, Jr.	December 19, 1975	July 17, 1977	Gerald Ford
Richard M. Moose	July 6, 1977	January 16, 1981	Jimmy Carter
Chester Crocker	June 9, 1981	April 21, 1989	Ronald Reagan
Herman Jay Cohen	May 12, 1989	February 26, 1993	George H. W. Bush
George Moose	April 2, 1993	August 22, 1997	Bill Clinton
Susan E. Rice	October 9, 1997	January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton
Walter H. Kansteiner, III	June 4, 2001	November 1, 2003	George W. Bush
Constance Berry Newman	June 24, 2004	August 26, 2005	George W. Bush
Jendayi Frazer	August 29, 2005	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
Johnnie Carson	May 7, 2009	March 30, 2013	Barack Obama
Donald Yamamoto	March 30, 2013	August 5, 2013	Barack Obama
Linda Thomas-Greenfield	August 6, 2013	Current	Barack Obama

References

↑ "Bureau of African Affairs". Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
↑ "Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs". Department of State. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
1 2 "Assistant Secretaries of State for African Affairs". Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.

United States Assistant Secretaries of State (and Equivalent Ranks)

Reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs	African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs

Reporting to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Reporting to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs	Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political-Military Affairs

Reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Educational and Cultural Affairs Public Affairs Coordinator for International Information Programs

Reporting to the Under Secretary for Management	Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Director General of the Foreign Service

Reporting to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Conflict and Stabilization Operations Coordinator for Counterterrorism (Ambassador-at-Large) Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Population, Refugees, and Migration Trafficking in Persons (Ambassador-at-Large) War Crimes Issues (Ambassador-at-Large)

Reporting directly to the Secretary	Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Executive Secretary Inspector General Legal Adviser Director of Policy Planning Chief of Protocol Global Women's Issues (Ambassador-at-Large) Global AIDS Coordinator (Ambassador-at-Large)

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