The Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs is the Department's 3rd ranking official
and its senior career diplomat.
The Under Secretary is the Department's day-to-day manager of overall regional and
bilateral policy issues, and is responsible for integrating political, economic, global,
and security issues into the United States' bilateral relationships.
There are six geographically defined bureaus and two functional bureaus that report
to the Under Secretary --
--Bureau of African Affairs
--Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
--Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
--Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
--Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
--Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
--Bureau of International Organization Affairs
--Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
