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Under Secretary of State, 1919-1972

Creation of this Position

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Frank Lyon Polk
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 26, 1919
Entry on Duty: Jul 1, 1919
Termination of Appointment: Jun 15, 1920

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Norman H. Davis
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 11, 1920
Entry on Duty: Jun 15, 1920
Termination of Appointment: Mar 7, 1921
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Mar 3, 1921.

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Henry P. Fletcher
State of Residency: Pennsylvania
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: Mar 7, 1921
Entry on Duty: Mar 8, 1921
Termination of Appointment: Mar 6, 1922

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: William Phillips
State of Residency: Massachusetts
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: Mar 31, 1922
Entry on Duty: Apr 26, 1922
Termination of Appointment: Apr 11, 1924

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Joseph C. Grew
State of Residency: New Hampshire
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: Mar 7, 1924
Entry on Duty: Apr 16, 1924
Termination of Appointment: Jun 30, 1927

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Robert E. Olds
State of Residency: Minnesota
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: May 19, 1927
Entry on Duty: Jul 1, 1927
Termination of Appointment: Jun 30, 1928
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Feb 17, 1927.

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
State of Residency: Utah
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 17, 1928
Entry on Duty: Aug 31, 1928
Termination of Appointment: Jun 19, 1929
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 23, 1929.

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Joseph P. Cotton
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 7, 1929
Entry on Duty: Jun 20, 1929
Termination of Appointment: Mar 10, 1931

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: William R. Castle, Jr.
State of Residency: District of Columbia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 1, 1931
Entry on Duty: Apr 2, 1931
Termination of Appointment: Mar 5, 1933
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 17, 1931.

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: William Phillips
State of Residency: Massachusetts
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: Mar 6, 1933
Entry on Duty: Mar 6, 1933
Termination of Appointment: Aug 23, 1936

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Sumner Wells
State of Residency: Maryland
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: May 20, 1937
Entry on Duty: May 21, 1937
Termination of Appointment: Sep 30, 1943

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Edward R. Stettinius, Jr.
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Oct 4, 1943
Entry on Duty: Oct 4, 1943
Termination of Appointment: Nov 30, 1944

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Joseph C. Grew
State of Residency: New York
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: Dec 20, 1944
Entry on Duty: Dec 20, 1944
Termination of Appointment: Aug 15, 1945

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Dean G. Acheson
State of Residency: Maryland
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 16, 1945
Entry on Duty: Aug 16, 1945
Termination of Appointment: Jun 30, 1947
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Sep 25, 1945.

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Robert A. Lovett
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: May 28, 1947
Entry on Duty: Jul 1, 1947
Termination of Appointment: Jan 20, 1949

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: James E. Webb
State of Residency: North Carolina
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 27, 1949
Entry on Duty: Jan 28, 1949
Termination of Appointment: Feb 29, 1952

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: David K.E. Bruce
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Feb 7, 1952
Entry on Duty: Apr 1, 1952
Termination of Appointment: Jan 20, 1953

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Walter B. Smith
State of Residency: District of Columbia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Feb 9, 1953
Entry on Duty: Feb 9, 1953
Termination of Appointment: Oct 1, 1954

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Herbert Hoover, Jr.
State of Residency: California
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 18, 1954
Entry on Duty: Oct 4, 1954
Termination of Appointment: Feb 5, 1957

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Christian A. Herter
State of Residency: Massachusetts
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Feb 21, 1957
Entry on Duty: Feb 21, 1957
Termination of Appointment: Apr 22, 1959

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: C. Douglas Dillon
State of Residency: New Jersey
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 11, 1959
Entry on Duty: Jun 12, 1959
Termination of Appointment: Jan 4, 1961

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Chester Bowles
State of Residency: Connecticut
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 24, 1961
Entry on Duty: Jan 25, 1961
Termination of Appointment: Dec 3, 1961

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: George W. Ball
State of Residency: District of Columbia
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Nov 29, 1961
Entry on Duty: Dec 4, 1961
Termination of Appointment: Sep 30, 1966
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 30, 1962.

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Nicholas deB. Katzenbach
State of Residency: Illinois
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Sep 30, 1966
Entry on Duty: Oct 3, 1966
Termination of Appointment: Jan 20, 1969

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: Elliott L. Richardson
State of Residency: Massachusetts
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 23, 1969
Entry on Duty: Jan 23, 1969
Termination of Appointment: Jun 23, 1970

Title: Under Secretary of State
Name: John N. Irwin, II
State of Residency: New York
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Sep 18, 1970
Entry on Duty: Sep 21, 1970
Termination of Appointment: Jul 12, 1972

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Creation of Position: Congress provided for the position of Under Secretary of State in a general government appropriations act adopted on Mar 1, 1919 (40 Stat. 1224). The Under Secretary subsumed the duties of the Department's Counselor, who had served as the second ranking officer in the Department since 1913. The Under Secretary functioned as the principal deputy and chief assistant to the Secretary of State, served as Acting Secretary of State in the Secretary's absence, and provided guidance and direction to the activities of the Department. Prior to 1944, a number of offices in the Department reported directly to the Under Secretary. In Jul 1972, the position of Deputy Secretary superseded that of Under Secretary of State.

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