Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research


The Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research is the head of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research within the United States Department of State. Before 1986, the head of INR was the Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research reports to the United States Deputy Secretary of State.

List of Directors of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, 1957–1986

NameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePresident served under
Hugh S. Cumming, Jr.October 10, 1957February 19, 1961Dwight D. Eisenhower
Roger HilsmanFebruary 19, 1961April 25, 1963John F. Kennedy
Thomas Lowe HughesApril 28, 1963August 25, 1969John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Ray S. ClineOctober 26, 1969November 24, 1973Richard Nixon
William G. HylandJanuary 21, 1974November 24, 1975Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
Harold H. SaundersDecember 1, 1975April 10, 1978Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
William G. BowdlerApril 24, 1978December 17, 1979Jimmy Carter
Ronald I. SpiersJanuary 28, 1980October 4, 1981Jimmy Carter
Hugh MontgomeryOctober 19, 1981January 6, 1985Ronald Reagan
Morton I. AbramowitzFebruary 1, 1985May 19, 1989Ronald Reagan

Assistant Secretaries of State for Intelligence and Research, 1986–present

The office of "Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research" was renamed "Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research" on August 18, 1986.
NameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePresident served under
Morton I. AbramowitzFebruary 1, 1985May 19, 1989Ronald Reagan
Douglas P. MulhollandJune 9, 1989January 19, 1993George H. W. Bush
Toby T. GatiNovember 5, 1993May 31, 1997Bill Clinton
Phyllis E. OakleyNovember 10, 1997August 2, 1999Bill Clinton
J. Stapleton RoyNovember 19, 1999January 13, 2001Bill Clinton
Carl FordJune 1, 2001October 3, 2003George W. Bush
Thomas FingarJuly 22, 2004June 13, 2005George W. Bush
Randall M. FortNovember 9, 2006January 9, 2009George W. Bush
Philip S. GoldbergFebruary 9, 2010February 14, 2014Barack Obama
Daniel B. SmithFebruary 14, 20142019Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Ellen E. McCarthyJanuary 22, 2019presentDonald Trump