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Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs

United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
John A. Heffern US State Dept photo.jpg
Incumbent
John A. Heffern
Acting

since January 20, 2017
Reports to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Nominator President of the United States
Inaugural holder George Walbridge Perkins, Jr.
Formation August 1949
Website Official Website

The Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs is a position within the United States Department of State that leads the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs charged with implementing American foreign policy in Europe and Eurasia, and with advising the Under Secretary for Political Affairs on matters relating to diplomatic missions within that area. The Assistant Secretary is still to be appointed.

Originally, the Department of State first established a Division of Western European Affairs in 1909, which handled European nations primarily bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and their colonies. The Division of Near Eastern Affairs handled relations with most Central, Eastern, and Southern European countries until after World War I. During the interwar period, responsibility for much of Central and Eastern Europe shifted to the Division of European Affairs, although Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus were handled as part of the Near East until April 18, 1974. Following World War II, the Department completed the transfer of responsibility for the former colonies of European nations, except Canada, to the Bureaus of Near Eastern, South Asian, African Affairs, and Far Eastern Affairs.

The Department of State later established the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs in 1949. This came after the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government, also known as the Hoover Commission, recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level after Congress had increased the number of Assistant Secretaries of State from six to ten. On September 14, 1983, an administrative action changed the title of the incumbent to Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. On January 12, 1999, the title was changed back to Assistant Secretary for European Affairs. During the George W. Bush administration, A. Elizabeth Jones was sworn in with the title of Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.


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