Coordinator for Counterterrorism

United States Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Elizabeth H. Richard since December 29, 2023
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	L. Douglas Heck
Formation	1976
Website	Official website

The Coordinator for Counterterrorism heads the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, which coordinates U.S. government efforts to fight terrorism.^[1] As the head of the counterterrorism bureau, the coordinator for counterterrorism has the rank of both ambassador-at-large and assistant secretary.^[2]^[3]

As of December 29, 2023^[update], the coordinator is Elizabeth H. Richard.^[4]

List of coordinators

The role of Coordinator for Combating Terrorism has often rotated throughout a presidential administration, only presidents Gerald Ford and Donald Trump have maintained a single coordinator throughout their term of office.

Name	Assumed office	Left office	President served under
L. Douglas Heck	August 29, 1976	June 6, 1977	Gerald Ford
Heyward Isham	October 26, 1977	August 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter
Anthony C. E. Quainton	August 16, 1978	August 1, 1981	Jimmy Carter
Robert M. Sayre	May 11, 1982	September 10, 1984	Ronald Reagan
Robert B. Oakley	September 10, 1984	October 12, 1986
L. Paul Bremer	October 16, 1986	May 25, 1989
Morris D. Busby	May 1, 1989	July 24, 1991	George H. W. Bush
Peter Burleigh	November 22, 1991	November 23, 1992
Thomas E. McNamara (acting)	November 23, 1992	January 20, 1993
Philip C. Wilcox Jr.	March 24, 1995	June 27, 1997	Bill Clinton
Christopher W.S. Ross	March 30, 1998^[5]	December 13, 1998
Michael A. Sheehan	December 14, 1998	August 9, 1999 (acting)
Michael A. Sheehan	August 9, 1999	December 20, 2000
Francis X. Taylor	July 13, 2001	November 15, 2002	George W. Bush
Cofer Black	November 26, 2002	November 15, 2004
Henry A. Crumpton	August 2, 2005	February 2, 2007^[6]
Dell L. Dailey	June 22, 2007	April 3, 2009^[7]
Daniel Benjamin	May 28, 2009	December 10, 2012	Barack Obama
Jerry P. Lanier (acting)	December 10, 2012	February 18, 2014
Tina S. Kaidanow	February 18, 2014	February 22, 2016
Justin Siberell (acting)	February 22, 2016	January 20, 2017
Nathan A. Sales	August 3, 2017	January 20, 2021	Donald Trump
John Godfrey (acting)	January 20, 2021	March 21, 2022	Joe Biden
Timothy Alan Betts (acting)	March 21, 2022	January 13, 2023
Christopher A. Landberg (acting)	January 13, 2023	December 29, 2023
Elizabeth H. Richard	December 29, 2023	Incumbent

References

^ Website of the Bureau of Counterterrorism
^ "Assistant Secretaries and Equivalent Rank". January 20, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ "Department Organization Chart". March 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ "Elizabeth Richard". Retrieved February 12, 2024.
^ https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/ross-christopher-w-s ^{[bare URL]}
^ Biography of Henry A. Crumpton, U.S. State Department archive
^ Biography of Dell L. Dailey, U.S. State Department archive

v t e Ambassadors of the United States
Current countries	Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros DR Congo Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon The Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati South Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Suspended relations	Iran Syria
Defunct countries	Czechoslovakia East Germany Hawaii North Yemen Ottoman Empire Prussia South Vietnam South Yemen Soviet Union Tanganyika Two Sicilies United Arab Republic Texas Yugoslavia
Other places	Curaçao Hong Kong and Macau Jerusalem Taiwan
International organizations	AU APEC ASEAN SAARC CD EU ICAO NATO OAS OECD OIC OPCW OSCE UN UNESCO UNEP UN Food and Agriculture UNVIE UN in Geneva UN Human Rights WTO
Ambassadors-at-large	Arctic Counterterrorism Global Women's Issues International Religious Freedom Global Criminal Justice Trafficking in Persons AIDS Antisemitism
Ambassadors by President	Donald Trump Joe Biden
Other	Women LGBT

v t e United States assistant secretaries of state (and equivalent ranks)
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs	African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Energy Resources Chief Economist of the Department
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security	Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political-Military Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Educational and Cultural Affairs Global Public Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Management	Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Chief Information Officer of the Department Chief Medical Officer and Designated Agency Safety and Health Official Comptroller of the Department and Director of Global Financial Services Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent Director of Budget and Planning Director of Overseas Buildings Operations Director, Foreign Service Institute Director, Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador Director, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Conflict and Stabilization Operations Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Population, Refugees, and Migration Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (Ambassador-at-Large) Global Criminal Justice (Ambassador-at-Large)
Reporting directly to the Secretary	Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department Inspector General Legal Adviser Director, Policy Planning Staff Director, Office of Foreign Assistance Director, Office of Civil Rights and Chief Diversity Officer Chief of Protocol of the United States, with the rank of Ambassador Global Women's Issues (Ambassador-at-Large) Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (Ambassador-at-Large)