Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs is an office within the United States Department of State .
History of the office
The Foreign Relations Act for the financial years 1992/1993 confirmed the appointment of the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs on October 28, 1991 and decided to outsource parts of the previous subdivision (Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs) . As a result, on August 24, 1992, the Bureau of South Asian Affairs was created, which was responsible for relations with Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan and Sri Lanka .
As part of a reorganization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the current subdivision for South and Central Asia (Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs) was created with effect from February 21, 2006 , after taking responsibility for the countries of Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from the under department for Europe and Eurasia (Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs) was taken out. Richard Boucher then became the first Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs .
The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs is the head of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the US State Department and thus for the operations of the embassies in countries in these regions such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He reports to the Head of the Political Department ( Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs ) and is also an advisor to the US Secretary of State and the US Deputy Secretary of State .
The Head of Department is supported in his work by a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs as the first Head of Unit and Deputy Head of Department as well as other Deputy Assistant Secretaries who, as Heads of Department, are responsible for the areas of South Asian (Deputy Assistant Secretary, South Asia) , Afghanistan and Pakistan (Assistant Secretary, Afghanistan and Pakistan) and Central Asia (Deputy Assistant Secretary, Central Asia) .
Official
List of Assistant Secretaries of State for South Asian Affairs , 1992–2006
| Surname | Beginning of the term of office | Term expires | Acting US President |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Djerejian | August 24, 1992 | May 30, 1993 | George Bush and Bill Clinton |
| James P. Covey | |||
| Robin Raphel | August 6, 1993 | June 27, 1997 | Bill Clinton |
| Karl Inderfurth | 4th August 1997 | January 19, 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| Christina B. Rocca | June 1, 2001 | February 17, 2006 | George W. Bush |
List of Assistant Secretaries of State for South and Central Asian Affairs , as of 2006
| Surname | Beginning of the term of office | Term expires | Acting US President |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Boucher | February 21, 2006 | May 25, 2009 | George W. Bush |
| Robert O. Blake, Jr. | June 2, 2009 | 20th October 2013 | Barack Obama |
| Nisha Desai Biswal | 21st October 2013 | Barack Obama |
Web links
- Entry on the page of the Office of the Historian of the US State Department
- Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on the U.S. Department of State website (accessed May 31, 2016)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Edward P. Djerejian received the title of Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs on September 30, 1991 and became Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs on August 24, 1992 . However, at no time did he formally hold the position of Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs .
- ↑ The US Senate did not deal with the nomination of Covey, so that this was not an Assistant Secretary .