Assistant secretaries usually manage individual bureaus of the Department of State.
The following is a list of current offices bearing the title of "Assistant Secretary of State": The following roles also possess a rank equivalent to assistant secretary:[2][3][4] The Consular and Diplomatic Appropriations Act for the year ending June 30, 1867 authorized the president to appoint a second assistant secretary of state.
The Foreign Service Act of 1924 abolished numerical titles for assistant secretaries of state.
The third assistant secretary's duties varied over the years, including such diverse assignments as: supervision of several geographic divisions; oversight of the bureaus of accounts and appointments; international conferences and commissions; and ceremonials and protocol, including presentation to the president of chiefs of foreign diplomatic missions.
The Foreign Service Act of 1924 (May 24, 1924; 43 Stat 146) abolished numerical titles for assistant secretaries of state.