THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT STRUCTURE

The U.S. State Department Structure

1. Secretary of State
2. Deputy Secretary of State
3. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

Under Secretaries

1. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security
2. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs
3. Under Secretary for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs
4. Under Secretary for Management
5. Under Secretary for Political Affairs
6. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
    

Assistant Secretaries

1. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs: Focuses on the development and management of U.S. policy concerning the African continent: Strengthening Democratic Institutions; Supporting African economic growth and development; Advancing Peace and Security; Promoting Opportunity and development
2. Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs: Administers laws, formulates regulations and implement policies relating to the broad range of consular services and immigration.
3. Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: Leads the U.S. efforts to promote democracy, protect human rights and international religious freedom, and advance labor rights globally.
4. Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security: Advises the Secretary and the Under Secretary for Management on diplomatic security matters and supervises the Bureau of Diplomatic Security; Coordinates the provision of diplomatic security services and the exchange of security-related intelligence and operational information among the Department, foreign governments, other U.S. Government agencies, and all law-enforcement authorities
5. Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs: Deals with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. Countries covered include Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region), Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, North Korea, Palau, New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
6. Assistant Secretary for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs: Supports U.S. firms  doing business abroad, advocates for strong intellectual property protection and enforcement, and promotes global entrepreneurship and innovation; Furthers U.S. trade policy and advances export opportunities for U.S. businesses including through trade agreements and the World Trade Organization (WTO); Leads efforts to develop and implement economic sanctions, to deprive terrorist groups of funding, and to stem the trade in conflict gems and minerals; Works internationally to promote a strong digital economy by advocating an open and secure global Internet and advancing information and communications technology; Promotes sound macroeconomic, development, and investment policies, including anti-corruption, through bilateral and multilateral (e.g., IMF, World Bank, OECD) engagement, supporting U.S. and overseas prosperity; Negotiates aviation agreements to promote international mobility of people and goods;  Coordinates international aviation and maritime policies to support safe, secure, and environmentally sound international transport; Conducts strategic planning, analysis, and public affairs.  Promotes responsible business conduct. Leads U.S. relationship with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  Manages the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP).
7. Assistant Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs: Oversees a wide range of academic, cultural, private sector, professional, youth, and sports exchange programs to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries and promote peaceful relations.
8. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs: Develops and implements U.S. foreign policy in Europe and Eurasia; promotes U.S. interests in the region on issues such as international security, NATO, coordination with the European Union and other regional organizations, support for democracy, human rights, civil society, economic prosperity, counterterrorism, and nonproliferation. Countries covered include: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.       
9. Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research: Provides all-source intelligence support to U.S. diplomats, through timely and tailored analytic assessments, briefings, maps, opinion research, and other products, supports diplomats as they build democracies, promote economic stability, provide humanitarian assistance, and fight terrorism, disease, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction around the world, ensures that intelligence activities are consistent with U.S. foreign policy and that other components of the Intelligence Community understand the information and analysis needs of senior foreign policy decision makers.
10. Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: Combats crime by helping foreign governments build effective law enforcement institutions that counter transnational crime, everything from money laundering, cybercrime, and intellectual property theft to trafficking in goods, people; weapons, drugs, or endangered wildlife; Combats corruption by helping governments and civil society build transparent and accountable public institutions, a cornerstone of strong, stable, and fair societies that offer a level playing field for U.S. businesses abroad.
11. Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs: Prime interlocutor with the United Nations and a host of international agencies and organizations. Advances the President’s vision of robust multilateral engagement as a crucial tool in advancing U.S. national interests. U.S. multilateral engagement spans the full range of important global issues, including peace and security, nuclear nonproliferation, human rights, economic development, climate change, global health, and much more.
12. Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs: Advises the Secretary of State on legislative matters, directs the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, and acts as the Department’s principal liaison with the Congress.
13. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs: Deals with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. diplomatic relations with Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Regional issues include, Syria, Middle East peace, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and political and economic reform.
14. Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs: Works to advance U.S. foreign policy goals in such critical areas as climate change, wildlife trafficking, water, polar issues, ocean policy, infectious diseases, science and technology, and space policy, to name a few.
15. Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs: Manages the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, charged with linking the Department of Defense and the Department of State by providing policy in the areas of international security, security assistance, military operations, defense strategy and policy, military use of space and defense trade. The Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.
16. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs: Strategic and tactical planning to advance the Administration's priority foreign policy goals; Conducting press briefings for domestic and foreign press corps; Pursuing media outreach, enabling Americans everywhere to hear directly from key Department officials through local, regional and national media interviews; Managing the State Department's websites and developing web pages with up-to-date information about  U.S. foreign policy; Answering questions from the public about current foreign policy issues by phone, email, or letter; Arranging town meetings and scheduling speakers to visit communities to discuss U.S. foreign policy and why it is important to all Americans; Producing and coordinating audio-visual products and services in the U.S. and abroad for the public, the press, the Secretary of State, and Department bureaus and offices; Preparing historical studies on U.S. diplomacy and foreign affairs matters.
17. Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs: Deals with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
18. Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance: Core mission concerns arms control, verification, and compliance with international arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements or commitments.
19. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs: Responsible for managing and promoting U.S. interests in the region by supporting democracy, trade, sustainable economic development, and fostering cooperation on issues such as citizen safety, strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, economic and social inclusion, energy, and climate change. Countries covered include: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, The, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Recommendations for making the U.S. State Department more Effective at implementing U.S. Foreign Policy (Author: Brett D. Schaefer, Jay Kingham Senior Research Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at The Heritage Foundation)  

1. Appoint the appropriate Secretary of State. 
2. Reduce the operational role of the NSC and place those responsibilities chiefly on Under and Assistant Secretaries of State. 
3. Return the Policy Planning Staff to its original purpose, or eliminate it. 
4. Refuse to accord cabinet rank to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. 
5. Curtail the use of special envoys and special representatives. 
6. Ensure that all candidates for ambassadorial appointments are qualified. 
7. Reinforce the authority of U.S. Ambassadors. 
8. Increase Foreign Service assignments from three to five years. 
9. Conduct an in-depth evaluation of standards, training, and qualifications for both the Foreign Service and Civil Service. 

Strengthening the State Department’s Traditional Bilateral and Multilateral Diplomacy

1. Establish an Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs. 
2. Shift the responsibilities of most functional bureaus to the Under Secretary for Bilateral Affairs and the Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs. 
3. Rename the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs as the Bureau for Economic Development. 
4. Eliminate the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. 
5. Eliminate the position of Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources. .
6. Merge complementary offices and bureaus and emphasize their overarching purpose.
7. Reconsider lines of authority for non-U.N. multilateral organizations. 
8. Treat former U.S. territories as the independent nations they have become. 

Improving America’s Public Diplomacy

1. Reform the Broadcasting Board of Governors. 
2. Make the new position of Chief Executive Officer for International Broadcasting permanent. 
3. Underscore that the mission of USIB is to promote and explain U.S. foreign and national security policy and provide news in areas of the world where there are no alternative free media sources. 
4. Disaggregate the broadcasting services according to their functions. 
5. Regularly re-evaluate capabilities to ensure that foreign language services address enduring, pressing, and evolving needs. 

Engaging Congress

1. Work with Congress to enact a State Department authorization bill. 
2. Consult closely with Congress on the appointment of special envoys, special representatives, special advisers, and other senior appointees. 
3. Clarify and, to the extent possible, codify the treaty process. 
4. Review congressionally mandated reports. 

Increasing Oversight of International Organizations

1. Establish a dedicated unit for international organizations in the Office of Inspector General for the Department of State. 
2. Conduct a periodic cost-benefit analysis of U.S. participation in all international organizations. 
3. Renew the annual reporting on all federal agency contributions to the U.N. system to be conducted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

Conclusion

To effectively confront the challenges facing America, President Trump will need a focused and efficient State Department that is capably led, properly structured, and dedicated to implementing the President’s foreign policy initiatives. Simply increasing resources will not address the widely acknowledged shortcomings of the Department of State. The above recommendations are not comprehensive, but if embraced and implemented, would contribute to ensuring that the President is better served by a more effective and accountable State Department.