Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs
US Special office
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, or more formally the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, was established in 2015, by an executive order pertaining to the recovery of U.S. hostages held by non-state actors and of U.S. citizens wrongfully detained by foreign states. The Special Presidential Envoy leads and coordinates activities across the Executive Branch to bring home those Americans.[1] The position was created in 2015 during the Obama administration.[2]
| United States Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs | |
|---|---|
Seal of the United States Department of State | |
| Nominator | President of the United States |
| Appointer | Secretary of State |
| Formation | 2015 |
| Website | state.gov |
In February 2020, President Trump announced his intention to appoint Roger D. Carstens as the next special presidential envoy.[3]
In January 2021, incoming President Joseph R. Biden and incoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken requested that Roger Carstens stay on into the Biden administration.[4]
During Trump's second presidential transition, he nominated Adam Boehler to that position, but he withdrew after it was leaked that he met Hamas representatives in Qatar.
List of special presidential envoys
| No. | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Tenure length | President |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim O'Brien | August 28, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | 1 year and 146 days | Barack Obama |
| 2 | Robert C. O'Brien | May 25, 2018 | October 3, 2019 | 1 year and 132 days | Donald Trump |
| acting | Hugh Dugan | October 4, 2019 | March 1, 2020 | 150 days | |
| 3 | Roger D. Carstens | March 2, 2020 | January 20, 2025 | 4 years and 325 days | |
| Joe Biden | |||||
| acting | Dustin Stewart | January 21, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump |