United States order of precedence
The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order, or relative preeminence, for domestic and foreign government officials (military and civilian) at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad.[1][2] The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy, and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies.[3] Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, second ladies, and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
The order is established by the president, through the Office of the Chief of Staff,[2] and is maintained by the State Department's Office of the Chief of Protocol.[4] It is only used to indicate ceremonial protocol and has no legal standing; it does not reflect the presidential line of succession or the co-equal status of the branches of government under the Constitution. The Office of the Chief of Protocol posted an updated order of precedence on October 30, 2020.[3]
Details as of February 8, 2021
Except as otherwise noted, positions in the list are from the following source.[5]
- President of the United States[6] (Joe Biden)
- Vice President of the United States[6] (Kamala Harris)
- Governor of a state[6] – when in own state
- Speaker of the House of Representatives (Nancy Pelosi)
- Chief Justice of the United States (John Roberts)
- Former presidents of the United States or their widows/widowers (by seniority of assuming office):
- Jimmy Carter (January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981)
- Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001)
- George W. Bush (January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009)
- Barack Obama (January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017)
- Donald Trump (January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021)
- Former vice presidents of the United States or their widows/widowers (by seniority of assuming office; note that Joe Biden, who would otherwise appear in this list, already appears above as president):
- Walter Mondale (January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981)
- Dan Quayle (January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993)
- Al Gore (January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001)
- Dick Cheney (January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009)
- Mike Pence (January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021)
- American Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to foreign governments – when at post
- American Ambassadors, Permanent Representatives or Representatives to international organizations who hold Chief of Mission authority[7] – when at post
- American Chargé d’Affaires ad interim – when at post
- Secretary of State (Antony Blinken)
- President, United Nations General Assembly – when in session (Volkan Bozkir)
- Secretary-General of the United Nations – when at the United Nations (António Guterres)
- President, United Nations General Assembly – when not in session
- Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of foreign diplomatic missions to the United States[8] (in order of presentation of credentials to the President of the United States)
- Associate Justices of the Supreme Court (ranked by date of appointment):
- Clarence Thomas (October 18, 1991)
- Stephen Breyer (August 3, 1994)
- Samuel Alito (January 31, 2006)
- Sonia Sotomayor (August 8, 2009)
- Elena Kagan (August 7, 2010)
- Neil Gorsuch (April 8, 2017)
- Brett Kavanaugh (October 6, 2018)
- Amy Coney Barrett (October 27, 2020)
- Retired Chief Justices of the United States (ranked by date of appointment; currently none)
- Retired Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, unless they resigned (ranked by date of appointment):
- Sandra Day O'Connor (September 25, 1981 – January 31, 2006)
- Anthony Kennedy (February 18, 1988 – July 31, 2018)
- David Souter (October 9, 1990 – June 29, 2009)
- The Cabinet (other than Secretary of State), ranked according to the date of establishment of the department,[9] as added by the president,[10] as follows:
- Secretary of the Treasury (Janet Yellen)
- Secretary of Defense (Lloyd Austin)
- Attorney General (Monty Wilkinson) (Acting)
- Secretary of the Interior (Scott de la Vega) (Acting)
- Secretary of Agriculture (Kevin Shea) (Acting)
- Secretary of Commerce (Wynn Coggins) (Acting)
- Secretary of Labor (Al Stewart) (Acting)
- Secretary of Health and Human Services (Norris Cochran) (Acting)
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Matt Ammonn) (Acting)
- Secretary of Transportation (Pete Buttigieg)
- Secretary of Energy (David Huizenga) (Acting)
- Secretary of Education (Phil Rosenfelt) (Acting)
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Denis McDonough)
- Secretary of Homeland Security (Alejandro Mayorkas)
- Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Jane Nishida) (Acting)
- Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (Rob Fairweather) (Acting)
- Director of National Intelligence (DNI) (Avril Haines)
- United States Trade Representative (Maria Pagan) (Acting)
- Ambassador to the United Nations (Rich Mills) (Acting)
- Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (Vacant)
- Administrator, Small Business Administration (SBA) (Tami Perriello) (Acting)
- Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (Vacant)
- White House Chief of Staff (Ron Klain)
- President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate (Patrick Leahy)
- Senate Majority Leader (Chuck Schumer)
- Senate Minority Leader (Mitch McConnell)
- Senate Majority Whip (Dick Durbin)
- Senate Minority Whip (John Thune)
- Senators (by length of service; if the same, by the state's date of admission into the Union or alphabetically by state)
- Governors of states[6] – when outside their own states (Relative precedence among governors, all of whom are outside their own state, is determined by each states's date of admission into the Union or alphabetically by state)
- Governor of Delaware (John Carney)
- Governor of Pennsylvania (Tom Wolf)
- Governor of New Jersey (Phil Murphy)
- Governor of Georgia (Brian Kemp)
- Governor of Connecticut (Ned Lamont)
- Governor of Massachusetts (Charlie Baker)
- Governor of Maryland (Larry Hogan)
- Governor of South Carolina (Henry McMaster)
- Governor of New Hampshire (Chris Sununu)
- Governor of Virginia (Ralph Northam)
- Governor of New York (Andrew Cuomo)
- Governor of North Carolina (Roy Cooper)
- Governor of Rhode Island (Gina Raimondo)
- Governor of Vermont (Phil Scott)
- Governor of Kentucky (Andy Beshear)
- Governor of Tennessee (Bill Lee)
- Governor of Ohio (Mike DeWine)
- Governor of Louisiana (John Bel Edwards)
- Governor of Indiana (Eric Holcomb)
- Governor of Mississippi (Tate Reeves)
- Governor of Illinois (J. B. Pritzker)
- Governor of Alabama (Kay Ivey)
- Governor of Maine (Janet Mills)
- Governor of Missouri (Mike Parson)
- Governor of Arkansas (Asa Hutchinson)
- Governor of Michigan (Gretchen Whitmer)
- Governor of Florida (Ron DeSantis)
- Governor of Texas (Greg Abbott)
- Governor of Iowa (Kim Reynolds)
- Governor of Wisconsin (Tony Evers)
- Governor of California (Gavin Newsom)
- Governor of Minnesota (Tim Walz)
- Governor of Oregon (Kate Brown)
- Governor of Kansas (Laura Kelly)
- Governor of West Virginia (Jim Justice)
- Governor of Nevada (Steve Sisolak)
- Governor of Nebraska (Pete Ricketts)
- Governor of Colorado (Jared Polis)
- Governor of North Dakota (Doug Burgum)
- Governor of South Dakota (Kristi Noem)
- Governor of Montana (Greg Gianforte)
- Governor of Washington (Jay Inslee)
- Governor of Idaho (Brad Little)
- Governor of Wyoming (Mark Gordon)
- Governor of Utah (Spencer Cox)
- Governor of Oklahoma (Kevin Stitt)
- Governor of New Mexico (Michelle Lujan Grisham)
- Governor of Arizona (Doug Ducey)
- Governor of Alaska (Mike Dunleavy)
- Governor of Hawaii (David Ige)
- House Majority Leader (Steny Hoyer)
- House Minority Leader (Kevin McCarthy)
- House Majority Whip (Jim Clyburn)
- House Minority Whip (Steve Scalise)
- Members of the House of Representatives (by length of service; if the same, by the states's date of admission into the Union or alphabetically by state)
- Delegates or Resident Commissioners to the House of Representatives (non-voting members) from Territory of American Samoa, District of Columbia, Territory of Guam, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and United States Virgin Islands (by length of service)
- Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia (January 3, 1991)
- Amata Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa (January 3, 2015)
- Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands (January 3, 2015)
- Jenniffer González of Puerto Rico (January 3, 2017)
- Michael San Nicolas of Guam (January 3, 2019)
- Governors of Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Territory of Guam, Territory of American Samoa, United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (ordered by territory's date of entering U.S. jurisdiction or alphabetically by territory):
- Governor of Puerto Rico (Pedro Pierluisi)
- Governor of Guam (Lou Leon Guerrero)
- Governor of American Samoa (Lemanu Peleti Mauga)
- Governor of the US Virgin Islands (Albert Bryan)
- Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (Ralph Torres)
- White House deputy chiefs of staff (ranked by date of appointment):
- Jen O'Malley Dillon (January 20, 2021)
- Bruce Reed (January 20, 2021)
- National Security Advisor (Jake Sullivan)
- Senior advisors to the President (ordered by appointment):
- Mike Donilon (January 20, 2021)
- Anita Dunn (January 20, 2021)
- Cedric Richmond (January 20, 2021)
- Chief of Staff to the Spouse of the President (Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón)
- Chief of Staff to the Vice President (Hartina Flournoy)
- Assistants to the President (ordered by appointment)
- Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (Vacant)
- Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (Regina LaBelle) (Acting)
- Chief of Protocol (Cam Henderson) (when with the president or for a White House event)
- Ambassadors from the United States to international organizations who do not hold Chief of Mission authority (when at post)
- Chargés d'affaires to the United States (ordered by assumption of office)
- Former secretaries of state (ordered by term):
- Henry Kissinger (September 22, 1973 – January 20, 1977)
- James Baker (January 20, 1989 – August 23, 1992)
- Madeleine Albright (January 23, 1997 – January 20, 2001)
- Colin Powell (January 20, 2001 – January 26, 2005)
- Condoleezza Rice (January 26, 2005 – January 20, 2009)
- Hillary Clinton (January 21, 2009 – February 1, 2013) (note that Hillary Clinton would appear above when in attendance with her husband, former president Bill Clinton)
- John Kerry (February 1, 2013 – January 20, 2017)
- Rex Tillerson (February 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018)
- Mike Pompeo (April 26, 2018 – January 20, 2021)
- Former members of the U.S. Cabinet (ordered by term, who don't already rank higher)
- Former U.S. senators (ordered by leadership position, then by term; if same, then by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution, who don't already rank higher)
- Former governors of the state or territory in which the event is held (ordered by term, who don't already rank higher)
- Former governors (of states other than the state in which the event is held, by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution, who don't already rank higher)
- Former U.S. representatives (ordered by leadership position, then by term; if same, then by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution, who don't already rank higher)
- Deputy secretaries of executive departments (in the order of the creation of the respective departments or presidential appointment as for Cabinet above):
- Deputy Secretary of State (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Defense (Kathleen Hicks)
- Deputy Attorney General (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of the Interior (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Agriculture (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Commerce (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Labor (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Transportation (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Energy (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Education (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Vacant)
- Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (David Pekoske) (Acting)
- Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (Vacant)
- Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Vacant)
- Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations (Rich Mills)
- Deputy trade representatives:
- Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration (Vacant)
- Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (Vacant)
- Secretaries of the military departments (by creation order of branch):
- Secretary of the Army (John E. Whitley) (Acting)
- Secretary of the Navy (Thomas Harker) (Acting)
- Secretary of the Air Force (John P. Roth) (Acting)
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Mark A. Milley)
- Chairman of the Federal Reserve (Jerome Powell)
- Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (Andrew Saul)
- Heads of independent federal agencies at Level II of the Executive Schedule (ordered by creation date, if same, then by term)
- Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (David S. Cohen) (Acting)
- Director of the National Science Foundation (Sethuraman Panchanathan)
- Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Steve Jurczyk) (Acting)
- Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (Gloria Steele) (Acting)
- Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States (Matthew L. Wiener) (Acting)
- Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Kristine Svinicki)
- Director of the United States Office of Personnel Management (Kathleen McGettigan) (Acting)
- Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (Sean Cairncross)
- Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Dave Uejio) (Acting)
- CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (Dev Jagadesan) (Acting)
- Vice-chair and governors of the Federal Reserve (by length of service)
- Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (David Black)
- Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (David S. Cohen)
- Principal Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (Vacant)
- Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (Vacant)
- Deputy heads of independent federal agencies at Level II of the Executive Schedule (ordered by creation date, if same, then by term)
- Under secretaries of state and departmental positions of equivalent rank (ordered by departmental line of succession)
- Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (Vacant)
- Under Secretary of State for Management (Vacant)
- Remaining under secretaries of state, ordered by date of appointment:
- Counselor of the United States Department of State (Vacant)
- Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment (Vacant)
- Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs (Vacant)
- Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (Vacant)
- Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (Vacant)
- Under secretaries of executive departments and departmental positions of equivalent rank, Treasurer of the United States, associate attorneys general, and Solicitor General (ordered as Cabinet above and then by departmental line of succession)
- Heads of federal departmental agencies (ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession)
- Former chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (ordered by term; note that Colin Powell, who would otherwise appear in this list, already appears above as a former secretary of state)
- Hugh Shelton (October 1, 1997 – October 1, 2001)
- Richard Myers (October 1, 2001 – October 1, 2005)
- Peter Pace (October 1, 2005 – October 1, 2007)
- Michael Mullen (October 1, 2007 – October 1, 2011)
- Martin Dempsey (October 1, 2011 – October 1, 2015)
- Joseph Dunford (October 1, 2015 – October 1, 2019)
- Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (John E. Hyten)
- Joint chiefs of staff (ordered by appointment):
- Commandant of the Marine Corps (David H. Berger) (July 11, 2019)
- Chief of Staff of the Army (James C. McConville) (August 9, 2019)
- Chief of Naval Operations (Michael M. Gilday) (August 22, 2019)
- Chief of Space Operations (John W. Raymond) (December 20, 2019)
- Chief of Staff of the Air Force (Charles Q. Brown) (August 6, 2020)
- Chief of the National Guard Bureau (Daniel R. Hokanson)
- Commandant of the Coast Guard (Karl L. Schultz)
- Combatant commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands of four-star grade (ordered by appointment):
- Cyber Command (Paul M. Nakasone) (May 4, 2018)
- Indo-Pacific Command (Philip S. Davidson) (May 30, 2018)
- Transportation Command (Stephen R. Lyons) (August 24, 2018)
- Southern Command (Craig S. Faller) (November 26, 2018)
- Central Command (Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr.) (March 28, 2019)
- Special Operations Command (Richard D. Clarke) (March 29, 2019)
- European Command (Tod D. Wolters) (May 2, 2019)
- Africa Command (Stephen J. Townsend) (July 26, 2019)
- Strategic Command (Charles A. Richard) (November 18, 2019)
- Northern Command (Glen D. VanHerck) (August 20, 2020)
- Space Command (James H. Dickinson) (August 20, 2020)
- Heads of independent federal agencies at Level III of the Executive Schedule (ordered by creation date, if same, then by term)
- Deputy heads of independent federal agencies at Level III of the Executive Schedule (ordered by creation date, if same, then by term)
- Postmaster General (Louis DeJoy)
- Lieutenant governor (of the state in which the event is held)
- Mayor (of the city in which the event is held)
- Heads of international organizations when not at post (ranked by date of establishment)
- Ambassadors or permanent representatives of foreign governments accredited to international organizations headquartered in the United States
- Ambassadors from the United States to foreign governments (on official business in the United States or another country)
- Chief of Protocol (when at the Department of State or at events outside the White House, otherwise appears above)
- Ambassadors from the United States to international organizations who hold Chief of Mission authority (on official business in the United States or another country)
- Ambassadors from the United States to international organizations who do not hold Chief of Mission authority (on official business in the United States or another country)
- Career ambassadors
- Deputy Assistants to the President (ordered by appointment)
- Chief judges and circuit judges of the United States Courts of Appeals (by length of service)
- Chief judges and district judges of the United States District Courts (by length of service)
- Chief Judge and judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (by length of service)
- Scott W. Stucky (December 20, 2006)
- Kevin A. Ohlson (November 1, 2013)
- John E. Sparks (April 19, 2016)
- Gregory E. Maggs (January 29, 2018)
- Liam P. Hardy (December 8, 2020)
- Chief Judge and judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (by length of service)
- Coral Wong Pietsch (June 28, 2012)
- Margaret Bartley (June 28, 2012)
- William S. Greenberg (December 28, 2012)
- Michael P. Allen (August 3, 2017)
- Amanda Meredith (August 3, 2017)
- Joseph Toth (August 3, 2017)
- Joseph L. Falvey Jr. (May 2018)
- Scott J. Laurer (August 2020)
- Grant C. Jaquith (September 3, 2020)
- Chief Judge and judges of the United States Tax Court (by length of service)
- Chargés d'affaires from the United States (ordered by assumption of office)
- Under secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (ordered by date of appointment)
- Under Secretary of the Army (Christopher Lowman) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Under Secretary of the Air Force (Vacant)
- Under Secretary of the Navy (Vacant)
- Assistant secretaries (ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession)
- Chiefs of staff to heads of executive departments (ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession)
- Ambassadors-at-large (ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession)
- Special envoys/representatives (ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession)
- Assistant Attorneys General (ordered by departmental line of succession)
- Legal advisers of executive departments (ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession)
- Special Assistants to the President, including senior directors of the National Security Council (ranked by date of appointment)
- White House Social Secretary (Vacant)
- Heads of independent federal agencies at Level IV of the Executive Schedule (ordered by creation date, if same, then by term)
- Director of the Selective Service System (Vacant)
- Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Jelena McWilliams)
- Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights (Catherine E. Lhamon)
- Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission (Robert G. Taub)
- President of the Inter-American Foundation (Paloma Adams-Allen)
- Commissioner of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (Christopher J. Bavasi)
- Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (James E. Trainor III)
- Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (Colleen Kiko)
- Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel (Henry Kerner)
- Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (Richard S. Tischner)
- Chairperson of the Chemical Safety Board (Kristen Kulinowski) (Acting)
- CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau (Kelu Chao) (Acting)
- Chairman of the Election Assistance Commission (Christy McCormick)
- Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (David Bowdich)
- Deputy heads of independent federal agencies at Level IV of the Executive Schedule (ordered by creation date, if same, then by term)
- Assistant administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency
- Assistant administrators of the United States Agency for International Development
- Assistant trade representatives
- Associate administrators of the Small Business Administration
- Comptroller General of the United States (Gene Dodaro)
- Members of the Council of Economic Advisers (ranked alphabetically)
- Members of the Council on Environmental Quality (ranked alphabetically)
- American ambassadors-designate (in the United States)
- Mayors of U.S. cities (when not in own city; if multiple mayors present, rank by length of service)
- Mayor of the District of Columbia (Muriel Bowser) (when not in own city)
- Mayors of U.S. territories (when not in own city)
- Vice chiefs of staff (ordered by appointment):
- Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps (Gary L. Thomas) (October 4, 2018)
- Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (Joseph M. Martin) (July 26, 2019)
- Vice Chief of Naval Operations (William K. Lescher) (May 29, 2020)
- Vice Chief of Space Operations (David D. Thompson) (October 2, 2020)
- Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force (David W. Allvin) (November 16, 2020)
- Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau (Marc H. Sasseville)
- Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard (Charles Ray)
- Assistant secretaries and general counsels of the Department of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (by date of appointment)
- General Counsel of the Navy (Garrett L. Ressing) (Acting) (March 7, 2019)
- Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (Shawn Barnes) (Acting) (December 20, 2019)
- Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) (John A. Fedrigo) (Acting) (December 27, 2019)
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) (Frederick Stefany) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) (Alaleh Jenkins) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (Robert L. Marion) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management & Comptroller) (Stephen Herrera) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- General Counsel of the Air Force (Craig Smith) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Installations, Environment & Energy) (Jennifer Miller) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) (Darlene Costello) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) (Vance F. Stewart III) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) (Katherine L. Kessmeier) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) (Wesley C. Miller) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment) (J. E. Surash) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) (Mark R. Lewis) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations and Environment) (Todd Schafer) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- General Counsel of the Army (Greg Schmauder) (January 20, 2021) (Acting)
- Four-star military officers (in order of seniority: retired officers rank with but after active-duty officers)
- Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (Joan Virginia O'Hara)
- Officers of the U.S. Senate:
- Chaplain (Barry Black)
- Secretary for the Majority (Gary B. Myrick)
- Secretary for the Minority (Robert M. Duncan)
- Secretary of the Senate (Julie E. Adams)
- Sergeant at Arms (vacant)
- Parliamentarian (Elizabeth MacDonough)
- Officers of the U.S. House of Representatives:
- Chaplain (Margaret G. Kibben)
- Chief Administrative Officer (Catherine Szpindor)
- Clerk of the House (Cheryl L. Johnson)
- Sergeant at Arms (vacant)
- Three-star military officers (in order of seniority: retired officers rank with but after active-duty officers)
- State senators (when in own state; ranked by length of service, when the same, by alphabetical order by surname)
- State representatives (when in own state; ranked by length of service, when the same, by alphabetical order by surname)
- Former American ambassadors/chiefs of diplomatic missions (in order of presentation of credentials at first post, who don't already rank higher)
- Chairmen or heads of other federal boards, councils and commissions not previously listed
- Librarian of Congress (Carla Hayden)
- Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (Lonnie Bunch)
- Chairman of the American Red Cross (Bonnie McElveen-Hunter)
- Deputy chiefs of Protocol (ranked by date of appointment)
- Minister-rank officials assigned to foreign bilateral diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C.
- Deputy under secretaries of executive departments (according to date of establishment of the Department; if more than one from a department, then as ranked within the department)
- Principal deputy assistant secretaries of executive departments (according to date of establishment of the department; if more than one from a department, then as ranked within the department)
- Deputy counsels of executive departments (according to date of establishment of the department; if more than one from a department, then as ranked within the department)
- Two-star military officers (in order of seniority: retired officers rank with but after active-duty officers)
- Deputy assistant secretaries of executive departments (according to date of establishment of the department; if more than one from a Department, then as ranked within the department)
- Deputy assistant secretaries and deputy general counsels of the Army, Navy and Air Force (by date of appointment)
- Directors of the National Security Council
- American consuls general to foreign governments (at post)
- American deputy chiefs of mission (at post)
- Deputy ambassadors or permanent representatives of foreign governments accredited to international organizations headquartered in the United States
- Assistant chiefs of protocol
- Minister-Counselor-rank officials assigned to foreign diplomatic missions
- Chief Judge and judges, United States Court of International Trade (by seniority)
- Timothy C. Stanceu (March 10, 2003) (Chief Judge)
- Mark A. Barnett (May 28, 2013)
- Claire R. Kelly (May 28, 2013)
- Jennifer Choe-Groves (June 8, 2016)
- Gary Stephen Katzmann (September 15, 2016)
- Timothy M. Reif (August 8, 2019)
- M. Miller Baker (December 18, 2019)
- Stephen Vaden (December 21, 2020)
- 1 seat vacant
- Chief Judge and associate judges, United States Court of Federal Claims (by seniority)
- Eleni M. Roumel (February 24, 2020) (Chief Judge)
- Patricia E. Campbell-Smith (September 19, 2013)
- Elaine D. Kaplan (November 6, 2013)
- Lydia Kay Griggsby (January 5, 2015)
- Richard Hertling (June 12, 2019)
- Ryan T. Holte (July 11, 2019)
- David A. Tapp (November 19, 2019)
- Matthew H. Solomson (February 3, 2020)
- Edward H. Meyers (October 20, 2020)
- Kathryn C. Davis (December 16, 2020)
- Zachary Somers (December 22, 2020)
- Thompson Michael Dietz (December 22, 2020)
- Stephen S. Schwartz (December 22, 2020)
- 3 seats vacant
- One-star military officers (in order of seniority: retired officers rank with but after active-duty officers)
- Directors of offices of executive departments
- Consuls general of foreign governments accredited to the United States
- Counselor-rank officials assigned to foreign bilateral diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C.
- Members of the Senior Executive Service not holding previously listed positions (by date of appointment, unless ranked differently as determined by the respective executive department)
- Members of other federal boards, councils, and commissions not previously listed
- Desk officers of executive departments
- First Secretary-rank officials assigned to foreign bilateral diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C.
Notes and references
- Mary Mel French (2010). United States Protocol: The Guide to Official Diplomatic Etiquette. p. 15ff. ISBN 9781442203204.
- "U.S. State Department Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 2 Section 320 "Precedence"". Retrieved December 13, 2015.
Precedence Lists establish the order or ranking of a country's government, military, and, in some cases, civic leaders for diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events, at home and abroad. The president, through the Office of the Chief of Staff, establishes the United States Order of Precedence.
- United States Department of State
- "What Does the Office of the Chief of Protocol Do?". U.S. State Department. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
21. Maintain and update the United States Order of Precedence List.
- "2020-Order of Precedence-October-2020.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- Spouses of the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, governors in their own state and mayors in their own cities are afforded the same rank and courtesy that accompanies their spouses’ positions at official functions. Spouses of other federal, state, or municipal government officials are accorded the same rank as the principal at official functions when they are attending together, and they are seated accordingly. This seating courtesy is the only ranking a spouse without title receives in the United States, unless the spouse himself or herself holds a separate position on the order of precedence.
- The American Ambassadors, Permanent Representatives or Representatives to international organizations with Chief of Mission authority include the following: U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN) – New York; U.S. Mission to the African Union (USAU) – Addis Ababa; U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe with the rank of Ambassador (OSCE) – Vienna; U.S. Mission to the Vienna Office of the United Nations (UNVIE) – Vienna; U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (USNATO) – Brussels; U.S. Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with the rank of Ambassador (USOECD) – Paris; U.S. Mission to the UN and Other International Organizations – Geneva; U.S. Mission to the European Union (USEU) – Brussels; U.S. Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (USASEAN) – Jakarta; U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States (USOAS) – Washington, DC.
- Diplomatic missions refer to all bilateral missions and the delegations of the European Union and African Union.
- For the purposes of the Order of Precedence, any reference to "executive department" shall mean the Cabinet Departments led by the Cabinet Secretaries.
- The President may make changes in his or her administration to the Cabinet-rank positions.
Further reading
- Mary Mel French (2010). United States Protocol: The Guide to Official Diplomatic Etiquette. p. 15ff. ISBN 9781442203204.
External links
- Order of Precedence of the United States (PDF; 655 KB) from the U.S. State Department website
- Diplomatic List: Order of Precedence and Date of Presentation of Credentials (for foreign diplomats) from the U.S. State Department website