Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs


The Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, a bureau within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

Assistant Secretaries of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, 1961—Present

Note: The post had been abolished from 1978 to 1999. In 1978 the Bureau was abolished and its functions transferred to the International Communications Agency under Reorganization Plan No. 2. On October 1, 1999, pursuant to the integration of the U.S. Information Agency into the Department of State this position was revived.
NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident served under
Philip Hall CoombsMarch 23, 1961June 4, 1962John F. Kennedy
Lucius D. BattleJune 5, 1962August 20, 1964John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
Harry McPhersonAugust 23, 1964August 14, 1965Lyndon B. Johnson
Charles FrankelSeptember 15, 1965December 31, 1967Lyndon B. Johnson
Edward D. ReFebruary 28, 1968January 9, 1969Lyndon B. Johnson
John Richardson Jr.July 15, 1969March 7, 1977Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
Joseph D. DuffeyApril 8, 1977March 21, 1978Jimmy Carter
Alice Stone IlchmanMarch 22, 1978March 31, 1978Jimmy Carter
position abolished
William B. BaderNovember 18, 1999January 20, 2001Bill Clinton
Patricia HarrisonOctober 2, 2001July 1, 2005George W. Bush
Dina Habib PowellJuly 11, 2005June 7, 2007George W. Bush
Goli AmeriMarch 19, 2008January 20, 2009George W. Bush
Ann StockJune 23, 2010July 2013Barack Obama
Evan RyanSeptember 26, 2013January 6, 2017Barack Obama
Mark TaplinJanuary 2017August 2017Donald Trump
Jennifer Zimdahl GaltNovember 13, 2017March 29, 2018Donald Trump
Marie RoyceMarch 30, 2018Donald Trump