Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

The Arms Control and Disarmament Agency was established by the Arms Control and Disarmament Act, . Its predecessor was the U.S. Disarmament Administration as part of the U.S. Department of State from September 9, 1960, though President Dwight D. Eisenhower never appointed a director and John F. Kennedy named McCloy as its first director until ACDA's formation. ==Early mission==

In the 1970s emphasis of the agency was placed upon gaining an understanding of the strategic weapons capabilities of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China. The electronic reconnaissance capability of the United States was expanded through federal agency research and private contract research, utilizing radio frequency as well as optical technologies. The theory of this mission was that a clearer understanding of other nations' strategic capabilities was an important initial step in prevention of nuclear war. ==1997 reorganization==

In 1997, the Clinton administration announced the partial integration of ACDA with the State Department as part of the reinvention of the agencies which implement the nation’s foreign policy. The ACDA director served as both the under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs and a senior adviser to the president and the secretary of state for arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament. He communicated with the president through the secretary of state. In his capacity as senior advisor to the president, the under secretary attended and participated, at the direction of the president, in National Security Council (NSC) and subordinate meetings pertaining to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament and had the right to communicate, through the secretary of state, with the president and members of the NSC on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament concerns. ==1999 end==

As of April 1, 1999, ACDA was abolished and its functions merged into the Department of State. This was done pursuant to . The functions of the ACDA director were replaced by the office of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and by the office of the Senior Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. ACDA's bureaus, along with the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, were moved to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security to form four bureaus: Political-Military Affairs, Bureau of Arms Control, Bureau of Nonproliferation, and the Bureau of Verification and Compliance. Additional reorganizations of the arms control function took place in subsequent years, and as of 2023, those functions are carried out by the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, and the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. ==List of directors==

The directors of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency were: Special Assistant to the President for Disarmament Director of the Disarmament Administration Directors of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency ==References==