Hale, David Maclain, 1961-

David Maclain Hale (born 1961) is a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer, currently serving as the United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. In this role, he serves as the day-to-day manager of overall regional and bilateral policy issues, and oversees the regional bureaus as well as the bureaus for International Organizations and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1961, Hale graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 1983 and joined the Foreign Service in 1985. He served at the United States missions to Tunisia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Nations. In Washington, Hale was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel, Egypt and the Levant and Director for Israel-Palestinian Affairs. He held several staff posts, including Executive Assistant to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Hale was United States Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between 2005 and 2008. He was Deputy Envoy from 2009 to 2012, and Special Envoy for Middle East Peace between 2011 and 2013. He served as the United States Ambassador to Lebanon from 2013 to 2015.

Hale was the United States Ambassador to Pakistan from August 5, 2015 to August 30, 2018. In May 2017, he dedicated a new Counter-Terrorism Department building in Karachi. The building, which had been bombed in 2010, was rebuilt with Rs24 million from the United States Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Hale is the recipient of several Department Superior and Meritorious Honor awards, including the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award in 2013.

In July 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Hale as the next Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. During the Legislative day of August 28, 2018, he was confirmed by a voice vote.

On September 13, 2018, Hale was promoted to the rank of Career Ambassador – the highest rank in the foreign service. He is currently the highest-ranked serving United States Foreign Service Officer.