American diplomatic ranks

Factual Questions
1

Prompted by a business related meeting with an American diplomat (and being desirous of figuring out if the person is ranking or not as to figure out if this was a bullshit or an actionable conversation), is there any clear online guide to American diplomatic ranks. I have been to Wiki and I am still not clear as to the positioning of a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

2

FWIW it goes:

  1. Secretary
  2. Deputy Secretary
  3. Under Secretary
  4. Assistant Secretary

Looking around, it appears that Deputy Assistant Secretary is a high enough position for an individual to enter the Senior Executive Service pay scale of the US government, which means that they’re in the highest echelons of non-Presidentially appointed officials.

3

Sorry, I can’t find the reference online (have paper copy), but I suppose the easiest way to describe a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State is that they would be afforded roughly the same status as a three star general (if they are a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State) or kind of like a 2-and-a-half star general (if they are a DASS).

I’m not sure that was exactly what you’re looking for, but I think it may provide you a better sense of their importance without trying to explain the structure of the State Department.

4

Thanks, I suppose then that they are at (5.) under Ass’t Sec? - and roughly how many people at these ranks. Sec of State = 1, Deputy I believe if understood the website =1 Under Sec. = 5+? Ass’t Sec is ??

Ah yes, and thank you very much. But your first paragraph is a great deal of inside game and is not very clear to me (as I am not clear on the relative ranking of American generals either). I am not familiar with American bureaucracy so the inside game references are lost on me.

5

I don’t recall the exact number of Assistant Secretaries, but it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20. I’ve never seen a count of Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State, but my WAG would be in the range of 45-60.

6

Here’s the State Department’s own summary of its major components: We apologize for the inconvenience... - United States Department of State

You can search by name here: We apologize for the inconvenience... - United States Department of State

7

Thanks but… well I already had that. For outsiders not versed in American bureaucracy it’s fundamentally unhelpful for getting a sensation of standing, etc.

Ah, great, this puts it in context.

8

You can search the name of the diplomat you met using the second link. Then you can see where he or she fits in.

9

The rank and file grades can be confusing, as well. Normal government jobs are known as GS jobs and become more important as the numbers get higher, i.e., GS-1 being the lowest and GS-15 being very senior. The Foreign Service, on the other hand, are FS jobs and get more senior as the numbers get smaller, i.e., FS-8 being very junior and an FS-1 being somewhat senior. To make it more confusing, once a person reaches FS-1, he is then elegible to “open his window” for selection to the Senior Foreign Service (or FE ranks).

10

What’s this all about?

11

Stuff.

Thanks, perverse system, but I think I now understand the positioning of the person I was speaking with.

Yes, I understood that. I already had that information, what I did not understand was the structure of the American diplo service. It is hard to divine if one is not familiar with it.

12

Did you, perchance, find his or her name on the State Department website?

13

Find it, sure, it’s one of those names that’s all over the place. My question was not about confirming a position, but understanding the relative positioning.