= Political Bureaus = The '''political bureaus''' are the geographically-segmented bureaus of the [[UnitedStates/DepartmentOfState|DOS]] responsible for foreign policy. <> ---- == Composition == The political bureaus are directly led by an '''undersecretary for Political Affairs'''. They are a career officer of the [[UnitedStates/ForeignService|foreign service]], and effectively the highest ranking officer. The position is a [[UnitedStates/Presidents|presidential]] appointment subject to [[UnitedStates/Congress|Senate]] approval. === Africa === The '''bureau of African Affairs''' ('''AF''') is tasked with the Sub-Saharan Africa world region. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. 1. [[Angola|Angola]] 2. [[Benin|Benin]] 3. [[Botswana|Botswana]] 4. [[BurkinaFaso|Burkina Faso]] 5. [[Burundi|Burundi]] 6. [[CaboVerde|Cabo Verde]] 7. [[Cameroon|Cameroon]] 8. [[CentralAfricanRepublic|Central African Republic]] 9. [[Chad|Chad]] 10. [[Comoros|Comoros]] 11. [[CoteDIvoire|Côte d’Ivoire]] 12. [[DemocraticRepublicOfTheCongo|Democratic Republic of the Congo]] 13. [[Djibouti|Djibouti]] 14. [[Equatorial Guinea|Equatorial Guinea]] 15. [[Eritrea|Eritrea]] 16. [[Eswatini|Eswatini]] 17. [[Ethiopia|Ethiopia]] 18. [[Gabon|Gabon]] 19. [[TheGambia|The Gambia]] 20. [[Ghana|Ghana]] 21. [[Guinea|Guinea]] 22. [[GuineaBissau|Guinea-Bissau]] 23. [[Kenya|Kenya]] 24. [[Lesotho|Lesotho]] 25. [[Liberia|Liberia]] 26. [[Madagascar|Madagascar]] 27. [[Malawi|Malawi]] 28. [[Mali|Mali]] 29. [[Mauritania|Mauritania]] 30. [[Mauritius|Mauritius]] 31. [[Mozambique|Mozambique]] 32. [[Namibia|Namibia]] 33. [[Niger|Niger]] 34. [[Nigeria|Nigeria]] 35. [[RepublicOfTheCongo|Republic of the Congo]] 36. [[Rwanda|Rwanda]] 37. [[SaoTomePrincipe|Sao Tome and Principe]] 38. [[Senegal|Senegal]] 39. [[Seychelles|Seychelles]] 40. [[Sierra Leone|Sierra Leone]] 41. [[Somalia|Somalia]] 42. [[South Africa|South Africa]] 43. [[South Sudan|South Sudan]] 44. [[Sudan|Sudan]] 45. [[Tanzania|Tanzania]] 46. [[Togo|Togo]] 47. [[Uganda|Uganda]] 48. [[Zambia|Zambia]] 49. [[Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]] === East Asia and Pacific === The '''bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs''' ('''EAP''') is tasked with the East Asia and Pacific world regions. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. 1. [[Australia|Australia]] 2. [[Brunei|Brunei]] 3. [[Burma|Burma]] 4. [[Cambodia|Cambodia]] 5. [[China|China]] 6. [[CookIslands|Cook Islands]] 7. [[Fiji|Fiji]] 8. [[Indonesia|Indonesia]] 9. [[Japan|Japan]] 10. [[Kiribati|Kiribati]] 11. [[Laos|Laos]] 12. [[Malaysia|Malaysia]] 13. [[MarshallIslands|Marshall Islands]] 14. [[Micronesia|Micronesia]] 15. [[Mongolia|Mongolia]] 16. [[Nauru|Nauru]] 17. [[NewZealand|New Zealand]] 18. [[Niue|Niue]] 19. [[NorthKorea|North Korea]] 20. [[Palau|Palau]] 21. [[PapuaNewGuinea|Papua New Guinea]] 22. [[Philippines|Philippines]] 23. [[Samoa|Samoa]] 24. [[Singapore|Singapore]] 25. [[SolomonIslands|Solomon Islands]] 26. [[SouthKorea|South Korea]] 27. [[Taiwan|Taiwan]] 28. [[Thailand|Thailand]] 29. [[TimorLeste|Timor-Leste]] 30. [[Tonga|Tonga]] 31. [[Tuvalu|Tuvalu]] 32. [[Vanuatu|Vanuatu]] 33. [[Vietnam|Vietnam]] === Europe and Eurasia === The '''bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs''' ('''EUR''') is tasked with the Europe and Eurasia world region. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. 1. [[Albania|Albania]] 2. [[Andorra|Andorra]] 3. [[Armenia|Armenia]] 4. [[Austria|Austria]] 5. [[Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] 6. [[Belarus|Belarus]] 7. [[Belgium|Belgium]] 8. [[BosniaHerzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]] 9. [[Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] 10. [[Croatia|Croatia]] 11. [[Cyprus|Cyprus]] 12. [[Czechia|Czechia]] 13. [[Denmark|Denmark]] 14. [[Estonia|Estonia]] 15. [[Finland|Finland]] 16. [[France|France]] 17. [[Georgia|Georgia]] 18. [[Germany|Germany]] 19. [[Greece|Greece]] 20. [[HolySee|Holy See]] 21. [[Hungary|Hungary]] 22. [[Iceland|Iceland]] 23. [[Ireland|Ireland]] 24. [[Italy|Italy]] 25. [[Kosovo|Kosovo]] 26. [[Latvia|Latvia]] 27. [[Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein]] 28. [[Lithuania|Lithuania]] 29. [[Luxembourg|Luxembourg]] 30. [[Malta|Malta]] 31. [[Moldova|Moldova]] 32. [[Monaco|Monaco]] 33. [[Montenegro|Montenegro]] 34. [[Netherlands|Netherlands]] 35. [[NorthMacedonia|North Macedonia]] 36. [[Norway|Norway]] 37. [[Poland|Poland]] 38. [[Portugal|Portugal]] 39. [[Romania|Romania]] 40. [[Russia|Russia]] 41. [[SanMarino|San Marino]] 42. [[Serbia|Serbia]] 43. [[Slovakia|Slovakia]] 44. [[Slovenia|Slovenia]] 45. [[Spain|Spain]] 46. [[Sweden|Sweden]] 47. [[Switzerland|Switzerland]] 48. [[Turkey|Turkey]] 49. [[Ukraine|Ukraine]] 50. [[UnitedKingdom|United Kingdom]] === Near East === The '''bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Affairs''' ('''NEA''') is tasked with the Middle East and Northern Africa world regions. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. 1. [[Algeria|Algeria]] 2. [[Bahrain|Bahrain]] 3. [[Egypt|Egypt]] 4. [[Iran|Iran]] 5. [[Iraq|Iraq]] 6. [[Israel|Israel]] 7. [[Jordan|Jordan]] 8. [[Kuwait|Kuwait]] 9. [[Lebanon|Lebanon]] 10. [[Libya|Libya]] 11. [[Morocco|Morocco]] 12. [[Oman|Oman]] 13. [[Palestine|Palestinian Territories]] 14. [[Qatar|Qatar]] 15. [[SaudiArabia|Saudi Arabia]] 16. [[Syria|Syria]] 17. [[Tunisia|Tunisia]] 18. [[UnitedArabEmirates|United Arab Emirates]] 19. [[Yemen|Yemen]] === South and Central Asia === The '''bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs''' ('''SCA''') is tasked with the South and Central Asia world region. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. 1. [[Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] 2. [[Bangladesh|Bangladesh]] 3. [[Bhutan|Bhutan]] 4. [[India|India]] 5. [[Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]] 6. [[Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyzstan]] 7. [[Maldives|Maldives]] 8. [[Nepal|Nepal]] 9. [[Pakistan|Pakistan]] 10. [[SriLanka|Sri Lanka]] 11. [[Tajikistan|Tajikistan]] 12. [[Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan]] 13. [[Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan]] === Western Hemisphere === The '''bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs''' ('''WHA''') is tasked with all of the western hemisphere. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. 1. [[AntiguaBarbuda|Antigua and Barbuda]] 2. [[Argentina|Argentina]] 3. [[TheBahamas|The Bahamas]] 4. [[Barbados|Barbados]] 5. [[Belize|Belize]] 6. [[Bolivia|Bolivia]] 7. [[Brazil|Brazil]] 8. [[Canada|Canada]] 9. [[Chile|Chile]] 10. [[Colombia|Colombia]] 11. [[CostaRica|Costa Rica]] 12. [[Cuba|Cuba]] 13. [[Dominica|Dominica]] 14. [[DominicanRepublic|Dominican Republic]] 15. [[Ecuador|Ecuador]] 16. [[ElSalvador|El Salvador]] 17. [[Grenada|Grenada]] 18. [[Guatemala|Guatemala]] 19. [[Guyana|Guyana]] 20. [[Haiti|Haiti]] 21. [[Honduras|Honduras]] 22. [[Jamaica|Jamaica]] 23. [[Mexico|Mexico]] 24. [[Nicaragua|Nicaragua]] 25. [[Panama|Panama]] 26. [[Paraguay|Paraguay]] 27. [[Peru|Peru]] 28. [[SaintKittsNevis|Saint Kitts and Nevis]] 29. [[SaintLucia|Saint Lucia]] 30. [[SaintVincentGrenadines|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]] 31. [[Suriname|Suriname]] 32. [[TrinidadTobago|Trinidad and Tobago]] 33. [[Uruguay|Uruguay]] 34. [[Venezuela|Venezuela]] === International Organizations === The '''bureau of International Organizations''' ('''IO''') is tasked with all NGOs. The bureau is led by an assistant secretary. === Counterterrorism === The '''bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism''' ('''CT''') is tasked with coordinating various independent agencies around counterterrorism efforts. The bureau is led by a coordinator. ---- == History == The political bureaus were originally overseen by a deputy undersecretary. The office of the '''undersecretary for political affairs''' ('''P''') was established in 1959. In 1969, coordination on military matters was reassigned to a new bureau of Political-Military Affairs. The '''office for Combatting Terrorism''' was created in 1972 following the Munich Olympics. This office was granted authority to coordinate counterterrorism efforts of the DOD, CIA, and FBI in 1986. It was reorganized into the '''bureau of Counterterrorism''' in 2012, and again renamed in 2016 to '''Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism'''. In 2023, this bureau was placed under the oversight of the undersecretary for Political Affairs, alongside the political bureaus. ---- CategoryRicottone