William J. Burns
17th Deputy Secretary of State
Incumbent
Assumed office July 28, 2011
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	James Steinberg
20th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office May 13, 2008 – July 28, 2011
Preceded by	R. Nicholas Burns
Succeeded by	TBA
Acting United States Secretary of State
In office January 20, 2009 – January 21, 2009
Preceded by	Condoleezza Rice
Succeeded by	Hillary Rodham Clinton
Personal details
Born	April 4, 1956 (1956-04-04) (age 55) Fort Bragg, NC
Spouse(s)	Lisa Carty
Profession	Diplomat

William J. Burns (born April 4, 1956), an American diplomat, is the current Deputy Secretary of State and the highest ranked Foreign Service Officer in the United States. Burns was United States Ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008.

Early life

Born at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, burns earned a B.A. in History from La Salle University and M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in International Relations from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar. He is the recipient of three honorary doctoral degrees. Ambassador Burns is the author of Economic Aid and American Policy Toward Egypt, 1955-1981 (State University of New York Press, 1985). He speaks Russian, Arabic, and French, and is the recipient of two Presidential Distinguished Service Awards and a number of Department of State awards, including two Distinguished Honor Awards, the 2006 Charles E. Cobb, Jr. Ambassadorial Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development, the 2005 Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award, the James Clement Dunn Award, and five Superior Honor awards. In 1994, he was named to TIME Magazine's list of the "50 Most Promising American Leaders Under Age 40", and to TIME's list of "100 Young Global Leaders."

Career

Burns served from 2001 until 2005 as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and was Ambassador to Jordan from 1998 until 2001. Ambassador Burns has also served in a number of other posts since entering the Foreign Service in 1982, including: Executive Secretary of the State Department and Special Assistant to the Secretary of State; Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow; Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff; and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council staff.

From 2005 to 2008, Burns was the United States ambassador to Russia.

On January 18, 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that Burns will be succeeding R. Nicholas Burns (no relation) as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in March 2008, which is usually the highest position occupied by a career appointee in the State Department (outranked only by the secretary and deputy secretaries). Burns is expected to travel to Switzerland to receive an official message from Iran, the first time a U.S. official has ever done so.

On June 6, 2008, Burns was promoted to the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest personal rank that can be awarded to U.S. foreign service officers. The rank was awarded by nomination of the President and confirmation by the Senate.

Burns was the acting United States Secretary of State, having taken office on January 20, 2009, with the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He served in the post until the confirmation of Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton which occurred on January 21, 2009.

Burns has also garnered attention for a report he signed as ambassador—but did not personally write—A Caucasus Wedding, on a Dagestani wedding, which has received wide praise and been labelled "almost worthy of Evelyn Waugh".

On July 27, 2011 Burns was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent to be Deputy Secretary of State, and assumed the office the following day upon the resignation of James Steinberg.

Personal life

Ambassador Burns and his wife, Lisa Carty, have two daughters.

• "Biography of William J. Burns". United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/105574.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 
• United States Embassy in Moscow: Biography of the Ambassador^{[dead link]}
• "Американские послы в России и СССР [U.S. Ambassador to Russia and the USSR]". http://www.lasius.narod.ru/index/died/diplomatsUS2.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States of America Robert Daniel Murphy · Livingston T. Merchant · George C. McGhee · William Averell Harriman · Eugene V. Rostow · U. Alexis Johnson · William J. Porter · Joseph J. Sisco · Philip Habib · David D. Newsom · Walter John Stoessel, Jr. · Lawrence Eagleburger · Michael Armacost · Robert M. Kimmitt · Arnold Kanter · Peter Tarnoff · Thomas R. Pickering · Marc Grossman · R. Nicholas Burns · William Joseph Burns