Inspector General of the Department of State


The Inspector General of the Department of State heads the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and is responsible for detecting and investigating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the United States Department of State. In the Department, the Inspector General has a rank equivalent to Assistant Secretary.

List of Inspectors General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service

NameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficePresident served under
Raymond C. MillerNovember 19, 1957October 31, 1960Dwight D. Eisenhower
Gerald A. DrewNovember 13, 1960May 31, 1962Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
Norris S. HaseltonJune 10, 1962July 31, 1964John F. Kennedy
Fraser WilkinsJuly 23, 1964August 8, 1971John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon
Thomas W. McElhineyJuly 1, 1971July 18, 1973Richard Nixon
James S. SutterlinOctober 15, 1973August 31, 1974Richard Nixon
William E. Schaufele, Jr.April 16, 1975November 29, 1975Gerald Ford
Robert M. SayreNovember 25, 1975May 1, 1978Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
Theodore L. Eliot, Jr.July 5, 1978October 16, 1978Jimmy Carter
Robert C. BrewsterJanuary 15, 1979January 18, 1981Jimmy Carter
Robert L. BrownJuly 7, 1981June 30, 1983Ronald Reagan
William Caldwell HarropDecember 12, 1983August 27, 1986Ronald Reagan
Sherman M. FunkAugust 14, 1987February 15, 1994Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton
Jacquelyn L. Williams-BridgersApril 7, 1995January 31, 2001Bill Clinton
Clark ErvinAugust 3, 2001January 23, 2003George W. Bush
Howard KrongardMay 2, 2005January 15, 2008George W. Bush
Steve A. LinickSeptember 30, 2013On leave since May 15, 2020Barack Obama and Donald Trump

Vacancy during Clinton tenure

Harold W. Geisel served as Acting Inspector General during Clinton's service. Throughout the tenure of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, there was no permanent inspector general at the State Department, nor did President Barack Obama nominate anyone for that position while Clinton was Secretary. Later in 2013, Obama nominated Steve A. Linick, and the Senate confirmed Linick to the role.