Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security

The Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security (T) is a position within the U.S. Department of State that serves as Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament.

United States Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Bonnie Jenkins since July 22, 2021
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Curtis W. Tarr
Formation	1972
Website	state.gov/t

In this capacity, the Under Secretary (U/S) attends and participates, at the direction of the President, in National Security Council (NSC) and subordinate meetings pertaining to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament and has the right to communicate, through the Secretary of State, with the President and members of the NSC on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament concerns.

The U/S also leads the interagency policy process on nonproliferation and manages global U.S. security policy, principally in the areas of nonproliferation, arms control, regional security and defense relations, and arms transfers and security assistance. The U/S provides policy direction in the following areas: nonproliferation, including the missile and nuclear areas, as well as chemical, biological, and conventional weapons proliferation; arms control, including negotiation, ratification, verification and compliance, and implementation of agreements on strategic, non-conventional, and conventional forces; regional security and defense relations, involving policy regarding U.S. security commitments worldwide as well as on the use of U.S. military forces in unilateral or international peacekeeping roles; and arms transfers and security assistance programs and arms transfer policies.

By delegation from the Secretary, the U/S performs a range of functions under the Foreign Assistance Act, Arms Export Control Act, and related legislation. The bureaus of International Security and Nonproliferation, Political-Military Affairs, and Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance are under the policy oversight of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. By statute, the Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, and the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs all report to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

According to the Office of the Historian of the U.S. Department of State, the Under Secretary first received the permanent title "Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament" when the Clinton administration decided to merge the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the United States Information Agency into the State Department, as well as realigning the United States Agency for International Development with it.

List of Under Secretaries of State for International Security Affairs, 1972–1993

#	Name	Assumed office	Left office	President served under
1	Curtis W. Tarr	May 2, 1972	November 25, 1973	Richard Nixon
2	William H. Donaldson	November 26, 1973	May 10, 1974	Richard Nixon
3	Carlyle E. Maw	July 10, 1974	September 17, 1976	Gerald Ford
4	Lucy W. Benson[1]	March 28, 1977	January 5, 1980	Jimmy Carter
5	Matthew Nimetz	February 21, 1980	December 5, 1980	Jimmy Carter
6	James L. Buckley	February 28, 1981	August 20, 1982	Ronald Reagan
7	William Schneider Jr.	September 9, 1982	October 31, 1986	Ronald Reagan
8	Ed Derwinski	March 24, 1987	January 21, 1989	Ronald Reagan
9	Reginald Bartholomew	April 20, 1989	July 7, 1992	George H. W. Bush
10	Frank G. Wisner	July 20, 1992	January 19, 1993	George H. W. Bush

List of Under Secretaries of State for Arms Control and International Security, 1993–present

#	Name	Assumed office	Left office	President served under
11	Lynn Etheridge Davis	April 1, 1993	August 8, 1997	Bill Clinton
12	John D. Holum[2]	December 1, 1997[3]	August 7, 2000	Bill Clinton
13	John R. Bolton	May 11, 2001	July 31, 2005	George W. Bush
14	Robert Joseph	June 1, 2005	March 2, 2007	George W. Bush
-	John Rood (acting)[4]	September 26, 2007	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
15	Ellen Tauscher	June 26, 2009	February 7, 2012	Barack Obama
16	Rose Gottemoeller[5]	February 7, 2012 Acting: February 7–March 7, 2014	October 12, 2016	Barack Obama
-	Thomas M. Countryman (acting)[4]	October 12, 2016	January 27, 2017	Barack Obama/Donald Trump
-	C.S. Eliot Kang (acting)[4]	January 27, 2017	January 9, 2018	Donald Trump
-	Christopher Ashley Ford (acting)[4]	January 9, 2018	April 30, 2018	Donald Trump
17	Andrea L. Thompson	April 30, 2018	October 20, 2019	Donald Trump
-	Christopher Ashley Ford (acting)[4]	October 21, 2019	January 8, 2021[6]	Donald Trump
-	Marshall Billingslea (acting)[4]	January 11, 2021	January 20, 2021	Donald Trump
-	C.S. Eliot Kang (as Senior Official)[7]	January 20, 2021	July 21, 2021	Joe Biden
18	Bonnie Jenkins	July 22, 2021[8]		Joe Biden

References

1. By administrative action, Benson's titled was renamed "Under Secretary for Security Assistance," and then, on August 22, 1977, as "Under Secretary for Security Assistance, Science, and Technology." The position reverted to its former name during the Reagan Administration.
2. Served as Acting Under Secretary beginning December 15, 1997. He was commissioned as Under Secretary on August 7, 2000, during a recess of the Senate, but his appointment was rejected by the Senate on September 28, 2000.
3. This date is given on the State Department's website: state.gov, however, it appears to be incorrect because John Bolton took over this position on May 11, 2001.
4. Senior Official designated as Acting Under Secretary. Not officially appointed as Under Secretary.
5. "Rose Gottemoeller Designated as Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security". Retrieved May 3, 2023.
6. "In unusual move, top Trump official rescinds cheery exit letter and resubmits a protest resignation". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
7. Appointed an Officer of the United States and designated Senior Official exercising the authorities of Under Secretary.
8. "Bonnie Denise Jenkins". United States Department of State. Retrieved September 27, 2021.

External links

• The website of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security
• The Office of the Historian's page on Department of State organizational changes during the Clinton administration