Legal Adviser of the Department of State


The Legal Adviser of the Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State. It was created by an Act of Congress on February 23, 1931. The legal adviser replaced the solicitor, a Department of Justice employee who had functioned as the Department of State's chief legal officer since 1891. Between 1870 and 1891, the examiner of claims had been the chief legal officer of the department. The legal adviser provides legal advice on all problems arising in the course of the department's activities. Solicitors and examiners of claims were by statute officials of the Department of Justice. The first legal adviser was Green Hackworth, who served until 1946 and then became a judge on the International Court of Justice.
The legal adviser heads the United States Department of State Office of the Legal Adviser. As such, the legal adviser has the rank of assistant secretary.

List of Legal Advisers of the Department of State

NameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePresident served under
Green HackworthJuly 1, 1931March 1, 1946Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
Charles H. FahyJune 19, 1946August 15, 1947Harry S. Truman
Ernest A. GrossAugust 16, 1947March 3, 1949Harry S. Truman
Adrian S. FisherJune 28, 1949January 27, 1953Harry S. Truman
Herman PhlegerFebruary 2, 1953April 1, 1957Dwight D. Eisenhower
Loftus BeckerJune 13, 1957August 15, 1959Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eric H. HagerSeptember 9, 1959January 20, 1961Dwight D. Eisenhower
Abram ChayesFebruary 6, 1961June 27, 1964John F. Kennedy
Leonard C. MeekerMay 18, 1965July 13, 1969Lyndon B. Johnson
John Reese StevensonJuly 14, 1969January 1, 1973Richard Nixon
Carlyle E. MawNovember 27, 1973July 9, 1974Richard Nixon
Monroe LeighJanuary 21, 1975January 20, 1977Gerald Ford
Herbert J. HansellApril 8, 1977September 20, 1979Jimmy Carter
Roberts Bishop OwenOctober 4, 1979February 16, 1981Jimmy Carter
Davis Rowland RobinsonJuly 30, 1981February 27, 1985Ronald Reagan
Abraham David SofaerJune 10, 1985June 15, 1990Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush
Edwin D. WilliamsonSeptember 20, 1990January 20, 1993George H. W. Bush
Conrad K. HarperMay 24, 1993June 30, 1996Bill Clinton
David AndrewsSeptember 2, 1997April 25, 2000Bill Clinton
William Howard Taft IVApril 16, 2001March 1, 2005George W. Bush
John B. Bellinger IIIApril 6, 2005March 23, 2009George W. Bush, Barack Obama
Harold Hongju KohJune 25, 2009January 22, 2013Barack Obama
Mary McLeod January 23, 2013February 1, 2016Barack Obama
Brian EganFebruary 2, 2016January 20, 2017Barack Obama
Richard C. VisekJanuary 20, 2017Donald Trump
Jennifer Gillian NewsteadJanuary 22, 2018May 31, 2019Donald Trump
Marik A. String June 1, 2019Donald Trump