Coordinator for Counterterrorism

The coordinator for counterterrorism heads the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, which coordinates U.S. government efforts to fight terrorism.^[1] As the head of the counterterrorism bureau, the coordinator for counterterrorism has the rank of both ambassador-at-large and assistant secretary.^[2][3]

United States Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Elizabeth H. Richard since December 29, 2023
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	L. Douglas Heck
Formation	1976
Website	Official website

As of December 29, 2023^[update], the coordinator is Elizabeth H. Richard.^[4]

List of coordinators

The role of coordinator for combating terrorism has often rotated throughout a presidential administration; only presidents Gerald Ford and Donald Trump have maintained a single coordinator throughout their term of office.

#	Image	Name	Assumed office	Left office	President served under
1		L. Douglas Heck	August 29, 1976	June 6, 1977	Gerald Ford
2		Heyward Isham	October 26, 1977	August 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter
3		Anthony C. E. Quainton	August 16, 1978	August 1, 1981
4		Robert M. Sayre	May 11, 1982	September 10, 1984	Ronald Reagan
5		Robert B. Oakley	September 10, 1984	October 12, 1986
6		L. Paul Bremer	October 16, 1986	May 25, 1989
7		Morris D. Busby	May 1, 1989	July 24, 1991	George H. W. Bush
8		Peter Burleigh	November 22, 1991	November 23, 1992
-		Thomas E. McNamara (acting)	November 23, 1992	January 20, 1993
9		Philip C. Wilcox Jr.	March 24, 1995	June 27, 1997	Bill Clinton
10		Christopher W.S. Ross	March 30, 1998[5]	December 13, 1998
-		Michael A. Sheehan	December 14, 1998	August 9, 1999 (acting)
11			August 9, 1999	December 20, 2000
12		Francis X. Taylor	July 13, 2001	November 15, 2002	George W. Bush
13		Cofer Black	November 26, 2002	November 15, 2004
14		Henry A. Crumpton	August 2, 2005	February 2, 2007[6]
15		Dell L. Dailey	June 22, 2007	April 3, 2009[7]
16		Daniel Benjamin	May 28, 2009	December 10, 2012	Barack Obama
-		Jerry P. Lanier (acting)	December 10, 2012	February 18, 2014
17		Tina Kaidanow	February 18, 2014	February 22, 2016
-		Justin Siberell (acting)	February 22, 2016	January 20, 2017
18		Nathan A. Sales	August 10, 2017	January 20, 2021	Donald Trump
-		John Godfrey (acting)	January 20, 2021	March 21, 2022	Joe Biden
-		Timothy Alan Betts (acting)	March 21, 2022	January 13, 2023
-		Christopher A. Landberg (acting)	January 13, 2023	December 29, 2023
19		Elizabeth H. Richard	December 29, 2023	Incumbent

References

1. Website of the Bureau of Counterterrorism
2. "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
3. "Department Organization Chart". March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
4. "Elizabeth Richard". Retrieved February 12, 2024.
5. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/ross-christopher-w-s ^{[bare URL]}
6. Biography of Henry A. Crumpton, U.S. State Department archive
7. Biography of Dell L. Dailey, U.S. State Department archive