United States Deputy Secretary of State

Deputy Secretary of State of the United States of America
Seal of the Department of State
Flag of the Deputy Secretary of State
Incumbent Tony Blinken since December 17, 2014
U.S. Department of State
Reports to	The United States Secretary of State
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	July 13, 1972
First holder	John N. Irwin, II
Salary	Executive Schedule, level 2
Website	www.state.gov

The Deputy Secretary of State of the United States is the chief assistant to the Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State resigns or dies, the Deputy Secretary of State becomes Acting Secretary of State until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a replacement. The position was created in 1972. Prior to July 13, 1972, the Under Secretary of State had been the second ranking officer of the Department of State. The current Deputy Secretary of State is Tony Blinken, who was formerly the Deputy National Security Adviser for Barack Obama.

The State Department is the only federal Cabinet-level agency with two co-equal Deputy Secretaries. (See Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.) This Deputy Secretary of State office is the "first assistant" for the purposes of the Vacancies Reform Act, but both Deputy Secretaries have full delegated authority to act for the Secretary, if not otherwise prohibited by law. The current Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources is Heather Higginbottom.

List of Deputy Secretaries of State

#	Image	Name	Term Began	Term Ended	President(s) served under
1		John N. Irwin II	July 13, 1972	February 1, 1973	Richard Nixon
2		Kenneth Rush	February 2, 1973	May 29, 1974
3		Robert S. Ingersoll	July 10, 1974	March 31, 1976
					Gerald Ford
4		Charles W. Robinson	April 9, 1976	January 20, 1977
5		Warren Christopher	February 26, 1977	January 16, 1981	Jimmy Carter
6	75px	William P. Clark	February 25, 1981	February 9, 1982	Ronald Reagan
7		Walter J. Stoessel	February 11, 1982	September 22, 1982
8		Kenneth W. Dam	September 23, 1982	June 15, 1985
9		John C. Whitehead	July 9, 1985	January 20, 1989
10		Lawrence Eagleburger	January 20, 1989	December 8, 1992	George H. W. Bush
11		Clifton R. Wharton, Jr.	January 27, 1993	November 8, 1993	Bill Clinton
12		Strobe Talbott	February 22, 1994	January 19, 2001
13		Richard Armitage	March 26, 2001	February 22, 2005	George W. Bush
14		Robert Zoellick	February 22, 2005	July 7, 2006
15		John Negroponte	February 13, 2007	January 19, 2009
16		Jim Steinberg	January 28, 2009	July 28, 2011	Barack Obama
17		William J. Burns	July 28, 2011	November 3, 2014
–		Wendy R. Sherman Interim	November 3, 2014	January 9, 2015
18		Tony Blinken	January 9, 2015	Incumbent