Deputy assistant secretary

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Deputy assistant secretary is a government title for senior officials in some countries, usually reporting to an assistant secretary. In the United States, a deputy assistant secretary (DAS) ranks below an assistant secretary. The position has existed in the U.S. federal government since at least 1952. In 1960, the Department of Defense created a higher rank called principal deputy assistant secretary, placed between the assistant secretary and the deputy assistant secretary; by 1998 this rank had spread to seven cabinet departments. During the Clinton era, another rank, associate principal deputy assistant secretary, was added. In 2020, Robert D. Kaplan noted there were hundreds of deputy assistant secretaries across the U.S. government, with the Department of Veterans Affairs alone authorized 19. Career deputy assistant secretaries come from the Senior Executive Service and are appointed by the department secretary. Non-career deputy assistant secretaries are political appointees designated by the President and assigned to a department.