Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs


Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is a position of the United States government within the Department of State that heads the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, which is responsible for development of policies and programs to combat international narcotics and crime. The current Assistant Secretary is Kirsten D. Madison.
On October 1, 1978, Congress, in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal Year 1979, authorized the position of Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters, to be responsible for the overall coordination of the role of the Department of State in the international aspects of narcotics problems. This title had been given in full in each appointee's commission. The new Assistant Secretary, who headed the Bureau for International Narcotics Matters, replaced a Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State on Narcotics, who had served with a rank equivalent to an Assistant Secretary of State since 1971. The Department of State first supported the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Narcotics in 1909. The title of this position was changed from International Narcotics Matters to International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs on February 10, 1995.

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for International Narcotics Matters, 1979–1995

List of Assistant Secretaries of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, 1995–present

The title "Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters" was renamed "Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs" on February 10, 1995.
NameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePresident served under
Robert S. GelbardNovember 23, 1993April 10, 1997Bill Clinton
Rand BeersOctober 28, 1998August 31, 2002Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Robert B. CharlesOctober 6, 2003March 15, 2005George W. Bush
Anne W. PattersonNovember 28, 2005May 2007George W. Bush
David T. JohnsonOctober 31, 2007George W. Bush, Barack Obama
William BrownfieldJanuary 10, 20112018Barack Obama and Donald Trump
Kirsten D. MadisonMay 11, 2018Donald Trump