Director General of the Foreign Service
| Director General of the United States Foreign Service | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the U.S. Department of State | |
| United States Department of State | |
| Reports to | Secretary of State Under Secretary of State for Management |
| Seat | Harry S Truman Building, Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer | The President with the advice and consent of the Senate |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | 22 U.S.C. § 3928 (Foreign Service Act of 1980) |
| Inaugural holder | Selden Chapin |
| Formation | 1946 |
| Website | www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-management/bureau-of-global-talent-management/ |
The Director General of the Foreign Service is the designated manager of the United States Foreign Service.
The Director General is a current or former Foreign Service Officer, appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.[1] Since November 23, 1975, under a Departmental administrative action, the Director General has concurrently held the title of Director of the Bureau of Global Talent Management.[2] As the head of the human resources bureau, the Director General holds a rank equivalent to an Assistant Secretary of State and reports to the Under Secretary of State for Management.[2][3][4]
The current Director General is Marcia Bernicat.
History
Congress created the position of Director General of the Foreign Service through the Foreign Service Act of 1946. Between 1946 and 1980, the Secretary of State designated the Director General.[2]
The Foreign Service Act of 1980 made the position a Presidential appointee.[2]
After 1986, the Director General became responsible for all personnel aspects of the Foreign Service and the Civil Service at the State Department, including advertising, examination, appointment, job assignments worldwide, disciplinary actions, and promotions to the Senior Foreign Service.[5]
List of directors general of the Foreign Service
| Director General | Tenure | President |
|---|---|---|
| Selden Chapin | November 13, 1946 – April 30, 1947 | Harry S. Truman |
| Christian M. Ravndal | May 1, 1947 – June 23, 1949 | |
| Richard Porter Butrick | September 7, 1949 – April 1, 1952 | |
| Gerald Augustin Drew | March 30, 1952 – October 18, 1954 | Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Raymond A. Hare | October 19, 1954 – August 29, 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Joseph Charles Satterthwaite | May 6, 1957 – September 1, 1958 | |
| Waldemar John Gallman | November 17, 1958 – January 31, 1961 | |
| Tyler Thompson | May 14, 1961 – February 15, 1964 | John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Joseph Palmer II | February 16, 1964 – April 10, 1966 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| John Milton Steeves | August 1, 1966 – July 31, 1969 | |
| John Howard Burns | August 1, 1969 – June 15, 1971 | Richard Nixon |
| William O. Hall | July 5, 1971 – September 30, 1973 | |
| Nathaniel Davis | November 13, 1973 – March 17, 1975 | Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford |
| Carol Laise | April 11, 1975 – December 26, 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| Harry G. Barnes, Jr. | December 22, 1977 – February 8, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| Joan Margaret Clark | July 27, 1981 – October 24, 1983 | Ronald Reagan |
| Alfred Atherton | December 2, 1983 – December 28, 1984 | |
| George Southall Vest | June 8, 1985 – May 3, 1989 | |
| Edward Joseph Perkins | September 22, 1989 – May 7, 1992 | George H. W. Bush |
| Genta Hawkins Holmes | September 7, 1992 – August 18, 1995 | George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton |
| Anthony Cecil Eden Quainton | December 29, 1995 – August 22, 1997 | Bill Clinton |
| Edward William Gnehm | August 25, 1997 – June 14, 2000 | |
| Marc Isaiah Grossman | June 19, 2000 – March 26, 2001 | |
| Ruth A. Davis | June 15, 2001 – June 30, 2003 | George W. Bush |
| W. Robert Pearson | October 7, 2003 – February 27, 2006 | |
| George McDade Staples | May 25, 2006 – June 27, 2007 | |
| Harry K. Thomas, Jr. | September 21, 2007 – June 24, 2009 | George W. Bush, Barack Obama |
| Nancy Jo Powell | August 3, 2009 – January 6, 2012[6] | Barack Obama |
| Linda Thomas-Greenfield | April 2, 2012 – August 2, 2013 | |
| Arnold A. Chacón | December 22, 2014 – June 2, 2017 | Barack Obama, Donald Trump |
| William E. Todd (Acting) | June 12, 2017 - February 1, 2019 | Donald Trump |
| Carol Z. Perez | February 1, 2019 – June 6, 2022 | Donald Trump, Joe Biden |
| Marcia Bernicat | June 6, 2022 - present | Joe Biden |
References
- ^ "22 U.S. Code § 3928 - Director General of Foreign Service". Cornell Law School. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Directors General of the Foreign Service". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". U.S. Department of State. January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
- ^ "Department Organization Chart". U.S. Department of State. March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
- ^ "Up or Out — The Challenges of the State Department Personnel System". Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "Nancy Jo Powell - People - Department History - Office of the Historian".