Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security

United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for Diplomatic Security
United States; Assistant Secretary of State; for Diplomatic Security
	Seal of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security
	Flag of an assistant secretary of state
	Incumbent; Paul R. Houston; Acting since June 2, 2025
Reports to	The under secretary of state for management
Nominator	The president of the United States
Inaugural holder	Robert E. Lamb
Formation	1987
Website	Official website

The assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security is the head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security reports to the under secretary of state for management.

Assistant secretaries of state for diplomatic security, 1987—present

#	Name	Assumed office	Left office	President appointed by
1	Robert E. Lamb	June 19, 1987	August 9, 1989	Ronald Reagan
2	Sheldon J. Krys	August 9, 1989	August 7, 1992	George H. W. Bush
3	Anthony C. E. Quainton	September 23, 1992	December 29, 1995	George H. W. Bush
4	Eric J. Boswell	January 5, 1996	January 31, 1998	Bill Clinton
-	Patrick F. Kennedy (acting)	January 31, 1998	August 11, 1998	Bill Clinton
5	David G. Carpenter	August 11, 1998	June 29, 2002	Bill Clinton
6	Francis X. Taylor	November 18, 2002	February 19, 2005	George W. Bush
7	Richard J. Griffin	June 22, 2005	November 1, 2007	George W. Bush
-	Gregory B. Starr (acting)	November 1, 2007	July 7, 2008	George W. Bush
8	Eric J. Boswell	July 7, 2008	December 19, 2012^[2]	George W. Bush, Barack Obama
-	Scott Bultrowicz (acting)	December 19, 2012	November 18, 2013	Barack Obama
9	Gregory B. Starr	November 18, 2013	January 20, 2017	Barack Obama
-	Bill Miller (interim)^[3]	January 21, 2017	June 27, 2017	N/A
-	Christian J. Schurman (acting)	June 27, 2017	November 3, 2017	N/A
10	Michael Evanoff	November 3, 2017	July 24, 2020	Donald Trump^[4]
-	Todd J. Brown (acting)	August 1, 2020	August 12, 2021	N/A
11	Gentry O. Smith	August 12, 2021	January 20, 2025	Joe Biden
-	Carlos Matus (acting)	January 20, 2025	May 30, 2025	Donald Trump
-	Paul R. Houston (Senior Bureau Official)	June 2, 2025	Incumbent	Donald Trump

References

^ https://www.state.gov/biographies/paul-r-houston/
^ Lee, Matthew, "State Dept security chief resigns after Benghazi", Associated Press via Google. December 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
^ Rogin, Josh (July 26, 2017). "Opinion - State Department head of diplomatic security resigns". Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
^ "Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2017.

External links

[1] ttps://www.state.gov/biographies/paul-r-houston/

[AP02-2] Lee, Matthew, "State Dept security chief resigns after Benghazi", Associated Press via Google. December 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.

[3] Rogin, Josh (July 26, 2017). "Opinion - State Department head of diplomatic security resigns". Retrieved December 18, 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.

[4] "Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2017.

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[2]

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v t e United States assistant secretaries of state (and equivalent ranks)
Reporting to the under secretary for political affairs	African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Reporting to the under secretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment	Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Energy Resources Chief Economist of the Department
Reporting to the under secretary for arms control and international security	Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political-Military Affairs International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Reporting to the under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs	Educational and Cultural Affairs Global Public Affairs
Reporting to the under secretary for management	Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Chief Information Officer of the Department Chief Medical Officer and Designated Agency Safety and Health Official Comptroller of the Department and Director of Global Financial Services Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent Director of Budget and Planning Director of Overseas Buildings Operations Director, Foreign Service Institute Director, Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador Director, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions
Reporting to the under secretary for for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom	Conflict and Stabilization Operations Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Population, Refugees, and Migration Global Health Security and Diplomacy Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (Ambassador-at-Large) Global Criminal Justice (Ambassador-at-Large)
Reporting directly to the secretary	Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department Inspector General Legal Adviser Director, Policy Planning Staff Director, Office of Foreign Assistance Director, Office of Civil Rights and Chief Diversity Officer Chief of Protocol of the United States, with the rank of Ambassador Global Women's Issues (Ambassador-at-Large) Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (Ambassador-at-Large)

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United States Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security
Seal of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security
Flag of an assistant secretary of state
Incumbent Paul R. Houston^[1] Acting since June 2, 2025
Reports to	The under secretary of state for management
Nominator	The president of the United States
Inaugural holder	Robert E. Lamb
Formation	1987
Website	Official website