Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs

United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Donald Lu since September 15, 2021
Reports to	Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Nominator	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Edward Djerejian
Formation	1992
Website	Official Website

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.