Christian J. Schurman's term ended on August 1, 2020.
Christian J. Schurman was named Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service on November 28, 2017. A Diplomatic Security (DS) Special Agent with over 30 years of service, Mr. Schurman is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. His most recent assignment was Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs, responsible for evaluating, managing, and mitigating security threats to, as well as the direction of resources for, more than 240 diplomatic posts within the International Programs Directorate.
Domestically, Mr. Schurman has served as Director of the Office of Overseas Protective Operations, where he was responsible for an annual budget of over $2 billion, Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, and Chief of DS’s Criminal Investigations Division. He also designed and led the defensive counterintelligence program for the reconstruction of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow while serving as a Branch Chief in DS’s Counterintelligence Investigations Division. He also served as a member of Secretary of State James A. Baker’s protective detail and in DS’s Washington Field Office.
Mr. Schurman’s overseas assignments include tours as the Regional Security Officer in Tel Aviv, Nicosia, Tunis, and Accra and as Assistant Regional Security Officer in Bangkok.
Mr. Schurman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He has received several Department of State Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards as well as Senior Performance Awards. He is married and has two children.