Assistant Secretaries of State for European, Far Eastern, Near Eastern, and African Affairs

The Department of State established the position of Assistant Secretary of State for European, Far Eastern, Near Eastern and African Affairs during the general Department of State reorganization of Dec 20, 1944, after Congress had authorized an increase in the number of Assistant Secretaries of State from four to six (Dec 8, 1944; P.L. 78-242; 58 Stat. 798). The reorganization was the first to provide substantive designations for specific Assistant Secretary positions. The incumbent oversaw three of the Department’s four geographic offices; a separate Assistant Secretary was responsible for American Republic Affairs. In Jun 1947, the Department created an Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs to oversee the four geographic offices and to assume the duties previously exercised by the two geographic Assistant Secretaries, whose positions were then discontinued.