Richard L. Armitage

Richard L. Armitage (b. 1945) has been Deputy Secretary of State of the United States from March 26, 2001 until the present.

Mr. Armitage's nomination as Deputy Secretary of State was confirmed by the Senate on March 23, 2001. He was sworn in on March 26, 2001. Previously, he held senior troubleshooting and negotiating positions in the Departments of State and Defense, and the Congress.

From March 1992 until his departure from public service in May 1993, Mr. Armitage was an ambassador and directed U.S. assistance to the new independent states (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. In January 1992, the George H. W. Bush Administration's appointment him as Coordinator for Emergency Humanitarian Assistance. During his time in these positions Mr. Armitage completed several international coordination projects with the European Community, Japan and other donor countries.

From 1989 through 1992, Mr. Armitage occupied diplomatic positions as Presidential Special Negotiator for the Philippines Military Bases Agreement and Special Mediator for Water in the Middle East. President George H. Bush sent him as a Special Emissary to Jordan's King Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War.

In the Pentagon from June 1983 to May 1989, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. He helped develop politico-military relationships and initiatives throughout the world, headed U.S. Pacific security policy including the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-China security relationships, managed all DoD security assistance programs, and provided oversight of policies related to the law of the sea, U.S. special operations, and counter-terrorism. He played a significant role in Middle East Security Policies.

In May 1975 Mr. Armitage came to Washington as a Pentagon consultant and was posted in Tehran, Iran, until November 1976. Following two years in the private sector, he became Administrative Assistant to Senator Bob Dole of Kansas in 1978. In the 1980 Ronald Reagan campaign, Mr. Armitage was senior advisor to the Interim Foreign Policy Advisory board. From 1981 until June 1983 Mr. Armitage was Deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Born in 1945, Mr. Armitage graduated in 1967 from the Naval Academy, where he was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy. He served on a destroyer stationed on the Vietnam gunline and subsequently completed three combat tours with the riverine/advisory forces in Vietnam. Fluent in Vietnamese, Mr. Armitage left active duty in 1973 and joined the U.S. Defense Attache Office, Saigon. Immediately prior to the fall of Saigon, he organized and led the removal of Vietnamese naval assets and personnel from the country.

Mr. Armitage's has also served on several Boards and committees. He has received numerous U.S. military decorations as well as decorations from the governments of Thailand, South Korea, Bahrain, and Pakistan.