James Steinberg

James B. "Jim" Steinberg ( born May 7, 1953) is an American professor and politician of the Democratic Party. Since January 2009 he is one of the two Vice- Minister for Foreign Affairs ( Deputy Secretary of State ) in the administration of President Barack Obama.

Life

James Steinberg studied under Harvard College Harvard University ( 1973) and the Law School of Yale University ( 1978). Before his way into politics, he served as dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, a unit of the University of Texas at Austin. From 1994 to 1996, he served under Secretary of State Warren Christopher as Director of Policy Planning.

Even before the election of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election Steinberg served as its advisor. After the election victory, he was considered the leading candidate to the office of National Security Adviser, but was then appointed by the President as Deputy Secretary of State.

As Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg cares mainly about the relations of the United States to China. He shared the office first with Jacob Lew, who was mainly responsible for budgetary issues at the State Department; Lew was director of the Office of Management and Budget in November 2010.

On 30 March 2011 Steinberg announced that he would leave the State Department to become dean of the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named William Joseph Burns, currently Secretary of State for Political Affairs ( Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs ), as his successor.