Stephen James Akard (born 1964) is a former American diplomat who was the United States director of the

Office of Foreign Missions The Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) is a component of the United States Department of State to provide services to American diplomatic personnel abroad and foreign diplomats residing in the United States. History It was created by the United ...

, a division of the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

, and beginning in May 2020 also the acting inspector general of the department after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor, Steve Linick. Akard resigned less than three months later to return to the private sector, according to a department spokeswoman.

Early life and education

Akard is a native of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and French from

Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was a public university from 1969 to 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University system, Purdue University, of ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law. He received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the Indiana University

Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school for Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University Indianapolis. As of 2022, approximately 13,538 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are enr ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Akard practiced law in Indianapolis and was an instructor at the

Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is the law school of Indiana University Bloomington, a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. Established in 1842, the school is named after alumnus Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapo ...

in Bloomington. He also worked as a law clerk for James E. Noland on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Under the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

administration, he served as special assistant to Secretary of State

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

in the

Executive Secretariat The United States Department of State Executive Secretariat (S/ES) is composed of the Executive Secretary of the State Department and five deputy executive secretaries. It is responsible for coordination of the work of the Department of State int ...

, as well as in assorted officer roles at multiple

United States embassies The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world List of diplomatic missions of China, after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 co ...

between 1997 and 2005. He served as the senior foreign affairs advisor to Indiana governors

Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American Academic administration, academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican Party (United ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, and

Eric Holcomb Eric Joseph Holcomb ( ; born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who served as the 51st governor of Indiana, from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2016 to 2017 as the 51st Lieuten ...

. Akard served as the chief of staff, vice president and general counsel, and director for the

Indiana Economic Development Corporation The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) was founded in 2005 and is charged with growing the state economy, driving economic development, helping businesses launch, grow and locate in the state. Led by Secretary of Commerce Bradley B. ...

. Beginning January 2017, he served as senior advisor and acting chief of staff in the Office of the

Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment is an undersecretary position within the United States Department of State. The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment serves as senior economic advi ...

. In October 2017, he was nominated to serve as

Director General of the Foreign Service The director general of the Foreign Service is the designated manager of the United States Foreign Service. The director general is a current or former Foreign Service officer, appointed by the President of the United States, president, with t ...

. In March 2018, he withdrew his nomination after State Department officials and lawmakers raised objections that the role should be filled by a more experienced career diplomat and someone less politically connected to the Trump administration. Akard was confirmed by a vote of 90–2 as the director of the

on September 11, 2019 under President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and began service in his role on September 16. After the firing of incumbent

inspector general of the Department of State The Inspector General of the Department of State heads the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and is responsible for detecting and investigating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the United States Department of St ...

Steve Linick in May 2020, President

announced that Akard would be named as his successor. On August 5, 2020, less than three months after he assumed the IG role, Akard resigned, leaving Deputy Inspector General

Diana Shaw Diana Shaw is an American attorney and government official who had served as the acting Inspector General of the Department of State, inspector general of the Department of State. Education Shaw earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine ...

serving in an acting position as Inspector General.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akard, Stephen 1964 births Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law alumni Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis alumni Kelley School of Business alumni Living people People from Indianapolis First Trump administration personnel United States inspectors general by name Directors of the Office of Foreign Missions