William “Bill” Burns
William “Bill” Burns
Deputy Secretary of State for Policy
As Deputy Secretary of State for Policy, Mr. Burns will serve as the second ranking official at the State Department and will be responsible for helping the Secretary of State create and execute the most important foreign policy decisions. He previously served as the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, overseeing the day-to-day operations of overall regional and bilateral policy issues, as well as overseeing the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere, International Organizations and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. From 2005 to 2008, Burns was the United States Ambassador to Russia. Burns served from 2001 until 2005 as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and was Ambassador to Jordan from 1998 until 2001. Ambassador Burns has also served in a number of other posts since entering the Foreign Service in 1982, including: Executive Secretary of the State Department and Special Assistant to the Secretary of State; Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow; Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff; and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council staff. As of 7/19/11
