View source for Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs

{{Short description|Position in the U.S. Department of State}}
{{Infobox Political post
| post = United States<br/>Assistant Secretary of State<br/>for European and Eurasian Affairs
| body = 
| insignia = U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
| insigniasize = 120
| insigniacaption = Seal of the United States Department of State
| imagesize = 200
| image = Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Brendan Hanrahan.png
| incumbent = Brendan Hanrahan
| incumbentsince = April 25, 2025
| acting = yes
| style = 
| residence = 
| termlength = 
| reports_to = [[Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs]]
| nominator = [[President of the United States]]
| formation = August 1949
| inaugural = [[George Walbridge Perkins Jr.]]
| website = [https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-political-affairs/bureau-of-european-and-eurasian-affairs/ Official website]
| flag = Flag of the United States Assistant Secretary of State.svg
| flagcaption = Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State
}}
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.

Originally, the Department of State first established a Division of Western European Affairs in 1909, which handled European states 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<!-- of State?--> for European Affairs.

==Officeholders==

{|class="wikitable"
!#
!Name
!Assumed office
!Left office
![[President of the United States|President]] served under
|-
! colspan="5" |'''''Assistant Secretaries of State for European Affairs'''''
|-
|1
|[[George Walbridge Perkins, Jr.]]
|August 1, 1949
|January 31, 1953
|[[Harry S. Truman]]
|-
|2
|[[Livingston T. Merchant]]
|March 16, 1953
|May 6, 1956
|rowspan="5" | [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
|-
| -
|[[James Williams Riddleberger]]
|<ref>Appointed on October 15, 1956; declined appointment.</ref>
|
|-
|3
|[[Charles Burke Elbrick]]
|February 14, 1957
|November 16, 1958
|-
|4
|[[Livingston T. Merchant]]
|November 18, 1958<ref>Initially commissioned during Senate recess; after confirmation by Senate, re-commissioned on January 29, 1959.</ref>
|August 20, 1959
|-
| -
|[[Walter C. Dowling]]
|<ref>Appointed August 26, 1959, but never took oath of office.</ref>
|
|-
|5
|[[Foy D. Kohler]]
|December 11, 1959<ref>Initially commissioned during Senate recess; after confirmation by Senate, re-commissioned on January 27, 1960.</ref>
|August 19, 1962
|Dwight D. Eisenhower and [[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
|6
|[[William R. Tyler]]
|September 2, 1962
|May 18, 1965
|John F. Kennedy and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
|-
|7
|[[John M. Leddy]]
|June 16, 1965
|February 19, 1969
|Lyndon B. Johnson
|-
|8
|[[Martin J. Hillenbrand]]
|February 20, 1969
|April 30, 1972
|rowspan="2" | [[Richard Nixon]]
|-
|9
|[[Walter John Stoessel Jr.]]
|August 9, 1972
|January 7, 1974
|-
|10
|[[Arthur A. Hartman]]
|January 8, 1974
|June 8, 1977
|Richard Nixon and [[Gerald Ford]]
|-
|11
|[[George S. Vest]]
|June 16, 1977
|April 14, 1981
|[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
|12
|[[Lawrence Eagleburger]]
|May 14, 1981
|January 26, 1982
|[[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
! colspan="5" |'''''Assistant Secretaries of State for European and Canadian Affairs'''''
|-
|13
|[[Richard R. Burt]]
|February 18, 1983<ref>He was first nominated on May 10, 1982, but the Senate did not act on this first nomination.</ref>
|July 18, 1985
|rowspan="2" | Ronald Reagan
|-
|14
|[[Rozanne L. Ridgway]]
|July 19, 1985
|June 30, 1989<ref>The State Department's website [https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/12047.htm] gives the date as June 30, 1985, but given the context, this appears to be a typo for 1989.</ref>
|-
|15
|[[Raymond G. H. Seitz]]
|August 8, 1989
|April 30, 1991
|rowspan="2" | [[George H. W. Bush]]
|-
|16
|[[Thomas Niles]]
|October 3, 1991
|April 1, 1993
|-
|17
|[[Stephen A. Oxman]]
|April 2, 1993
|August 15, 1994
|rowspan="4" | [[Bill Clinton]]
|-
|18
|[[Richard Holbrooke]]
|September 13, 1994
|February 21, 1996
|-
|19
|[[John C. Kornblum]]
|July 3, 1996
|August 1, 1997
|-
|20
|[[Marc Grossman]]
|August 5, 1997
|May 31, 2000
|-
! colspan="5" |'''''Assistant Secretaries of State for European Affairs'''''
|-
|20
|[[Marc Grossman]]
|August 5, 1997
|May 31, 2000
|Bill Clinton
|-
|21
|[[James F. Dobbins]]
|January 4, 2001<ref>He had previously been nominated on September 26, 2000, but the Senate did not act on that nomination.</ref>
|June 1, 2001<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/outofdate/bios/d/945.htm |title=Dobbins, James |last=Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information |first=Bureau of Public Affairs |website=2001-2009.state.gov |language=en |access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref>
|Bill Clinton and [[George W. Bush]]
|-
|22
|[[A. Elizabeth Jones]]
|June 1, 2001
|February 28, 2005
|George W. Bush
|-
! colspan="5" |'''''Assistant Secretaries of State for European and Eurasian Affairs'''''
|-
|22
|[[A. Elizabeth Jones]]
|June 1, 2001
|February 28, 2005
|rowspan="2" | George W. Bush
|-
|23
|[[Daniel Fried]]
|May 5, 2005
|January 20, 2009
|-
|24
|[[Philip H. Gordon]]
|May 15, 2009
|March 11, 2013
|rowspan="2" | [[Barack Obama]]
|-
|25
|[[Victoria Nuland]]
|September 18, 2013 
|January 20, 2017
|-
| -
|[[John A. Heffern]] (acting)
|January 20, 2017
|August 23, 2017
|rowspan="3" | [[Donald Trump]]
|-
|26
|[[A. Wess Mitchell]]
|October 12, 2017
|February 15, 2019
|-
| -
|[[Michael J. Murphy (diplomat)|Michael Murphy]] (Senior Bureau Official)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.state.gov/biographies/michael-j-murphy/ | title=Technical Difficulties }}</ref>
|February 18, 2019
|March 18, 2019
|-
| -
| rowspan="2" |[[Philip T. Reeker]] (acting)
| rowspan="2" |March 18, 2019
| rowspan="2" |July 31, 2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=Philip T. Reeker|url=https://www.state.gov/people/philip-t-reeker/|access-date=2021-09-28|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref>
|[[Donald Trump]]
|-
| -
|[[Joe Biden]]
|-
| -
|[[Maureen Cormack]] (acting)
|August 2, 2021
|September 28, 2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maureen E. Cormack|url=https://www.state.gov/biographies/maureen-e-cormack/|access-date=October 5, 2021|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref>
|rowspan="5" | [[Joe Biden]]
|-
|27
|[[Karen Donfried]]
|September 30, 2021<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.state.gov/biographies/karen-donfried/ | title=Technical Difficulties }}</ref>
|March 31, 2023
|-
| -
|[[Dereck J. Hogan]] (acting)
|April 1, 2023
|July 10, 2023
|-
| -
|[[Yuri Kim (ambassador)|Yuri Kim]] (acting)
|July 10, 2023
|October 5, 2023
|-
|28
|[[James C. O'Brien]] 
|October 5, 2023
|January 20, 2025
|-
| -
|Louis L. Bono (acting)
|January 20, 2025
|April 25, 2025
|rowspan="2" | [[Donald Trump]]
|-
| -
|Brendan Hanrahan (acting)
|April 25, 2025
|''Incumbent''
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.state.gov/p/eur/}}

{{United States Assistant Secretaries of State}}

[[Category:United States assistant secretaries of state| ]]
[[Category:United States–European relations]]