Cliveden visitors in 2017. As home of Nancy Astor, Cliveden was the meeting place of the Cliveden Set of the 1920s and 30s—a group of political intellectuals. Later, during the early 1960s, it became the setting for key events of the notorious Profumo Affair. During the 1970s, it was occupied by Stanford University, which used it as an overseas campus. Today the house is leased by the National Trust as a five-star hotel. Cliveden means "valley among cliffs" and refers to the dene (valley) which cuts through part of the estate, east of the house. Cliveden has been spelled differently over
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is currently the third ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary. While the positions of Secretary and Deputy Secretary are occupied by political appointees, the position of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs is usually (but not always) occupied by a career Foreign Service Officer, making the occupant the highest-ranking member of the Foreign Service. The current Under Secretary is David Hale, who assumed office on August 30, 2018. The Under Secretary serves as the day-to-day manager