<Tr> <Th> Formation </Th> <Td> 1949 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> Official website </Td> </Tr> <P> The Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs is the head of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs within the United States Department of State . The Assistant Secretary guides operation of the U.S. diplomatic establishment in the countries of the Asia - Pacific region and advises the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs on matters relating to the area . The last permanent Assistant Secretary was Daniel R. Russel, who left on March 8, 2017 . Susan Thornton is now Acting Assistant Secretary . </P> <P> The Department of State established the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs in 1949, after the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government recommended that certain offices be upgraded to bureau level and after Congress increased the number of Assistant Secretaries of State from six to ten . On November 1, 1966, the Department by administrative action changed the incumbent's designation to Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs . The Division of Far Eastern Affairs, established in 1908, was the first geographical division to be established in the Department of State . </P>

Assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs