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Executive Order 13656: Establishment of Afghanistan and Pakistan Strategic Partnership Office and Amendment to Executive Order 12163

President: Barack Obama

Created a temporary State Department office to coordinate diplomacy and assistance for Afghanistan and Pakistan during a transition period.

Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 13656 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13656 is completed or expired. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13656 do?

EO 13656 established the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan as a temporary organization within State and amended EO 12163 to delegate specified foreign-assistance functions. The office supported diplomatic, security and development coordination during the drawdown transition. The order set termination for September 30, 2015 unless extended; the temporary organization ended and later State structures handled the portfolio.

Administration position: The office coordinated policy and delegated executive functions; it did not authorize assistance beyond statutes and appropriations or displace the authority of US ambassadors.
SignedJanuary 17, 2014
DepartmentState
HeadSpecial Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Scheduled terminationSeptember 30, 2015

Before and after

Before the order

The special representative operated without the temporary-organization status and updated delegations supplied by the order.

After the order

A formal office coordinated the portfolio through its limited term before responsibilities moved to regular structures.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Special representativeLead the temporary office and coordinate policyEnded
Secretary of StateExercise and redelegate assistance functionsContinuing under other authority
State Department bureausManage later Afghanistan and Pakistan policyContinuing

What happened next

EO 13656 created the temporary office.

Its stated term expired absent further extension.