The rebirth of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination: Guidelines for success U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses reporters during his first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Pool Buried in the 5,593-page stimulus bill signed into law last December was a significant institutional reform of the State Department: the (re-)creation of an Office of Sanctions Coordination. The office is modeled on the former Office of the Coordinator for Sanctions Policy, which was established in 2013 by then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and disbanded in 2017 by then-US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. By enshrining the office in law, Congress is seeking to make it a permanent fixture of the State Department. And by calling for it to be led by an ambassador-level, Senate-confirmed official—who will report directly to the secretary of state—Congress has positioned it well for success. (Full disclosure: Daniel Fried was the first and so far only State Department coordinator for sanctions policy; Edward Fishman worked closely with the coordinator’s office in his roles as lead sanctions adviser on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff and as Russia and Europe lead in the Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation.)