View source for Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs

{{Infobox Political post
| post = United States<br>Assistant Secretary of State<br>for South and Central Asian Affairs
| body =
| insignia = U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
| insigniasize = 120px
| insigniacaption = Seal of the United States Department of State
| imagesize = 200px
| image = Donald Lu official photo.jpg
| incumbent = [[Donald Lu]]
| incumbentsince = September 15, 2021
| acting =
| style =
| residence =
| termlength =
| reports_to = [[Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs]]
| nominator = [[President of the United States]]
| formation = 1992
| inaugural = [[Edward Djerejian]]
| website = [https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-political-affairs/bureau-of-south-and-central-asian-affairs/ Official Website]
| flag = Flag of the United States Assistant Secretary of State.svg
| flagcaption = Flag of an Assistant Secretary of State
}}
The '''assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs''' is the head of the [[Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs]] within the [[United States Department of State]], which handles U.S. foreign policy and relations in the following countries: [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]].
The position of Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs was renamed when responsibility for policy for five countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) was transferred from the [[Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs]] to the [[Bureau of South Asian Affairs]], which became the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. [[Richard A. Boucher]] was sworn in as the first to hold the current title on February 21, 2006 after the previous Assistant Secretary, Christina B. Rocca, left the Department.
==List of assistant secretaries of state for South Asian affairs==
{| class="wikitable"
!#
!Name
!Assumed office
!Left office
![[President of the United States|President]] served under
|-
| -
|[[Edward P. Djerejian]]<ref>Edward P. Djerejian held the title of "Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs" from September 30, 1991.  On August 24, 1992, he became [[Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs]] and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.  He was never formally Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.</ref>
|August 24, 1992
|May 30, 1993<ref>{{cite web | url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/djerejian-edward-peter | title=Edward Peter Djerejian - People - Department History - Office of the Historian }}</ref>
|[[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Bill Clinton]]
|-
| -
|James P. Covey
|<ref>The Senate did not act upon Covey's nomination and he never became Assistant Secretary.</ref>
|
|
|-
|1
|[[Robin Raphel]]
|August 6, 1993
|June 27, 1997
| rowspan="2" |[[Bill Clinton]]
|-
|2
|[[Karl Inderfurth]]
|August 4, 1997
|January 19, 2001
|-
|3
|[[Christina B. Rocca]]
|June 1, 2001
|February 17, 2006
| rowspan="2" |[[George W. Bush]]
|-
|4
|[[Richard Boucher]]
|February 21, 2006
|January 20, 2009
|-
|5
|[[Robert O. Blake, Jr.]]
|May 26, 2009
|October 20, 2013
| rowspan="2" |[[Barack Obama]]
|-
|6
|[[Nisha Desai Biswal]]
|October 21, 2013
|January 20, 2017
|-
| -
|[[William E. Todd]] (Acting)
|January 20, 2017
|June 12, 2017
| rowspan="2" |[[Donald Trump]]
|-
| -
|[[Alice G. Wells]] (Acting)
|June 26, 2017
|June 20, 2020
|-
| -
|[[Dean R. Thompson]] (Acting)
|January 20, 2021
|September 15, 2021
| rowspan="2" |[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|7
|[[Donald Lu]]
|September 15, 2021
|''present''
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/60885.htm A press release from the Department of State on the creation of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs]
*[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/61773.htm The biography of the current Assistant Secretary at the Department of State website].
*[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/12105.htm The Department of State's list of former Assistant Secretaries]
{{United States Assistant Secretaries of State}}
[[Category:United States Assistant Secretaries of State| ]]
[[Category:United States–Asian relations]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in the United States]]
{{US-gov-stub}}