United States Secretary of State
Official seal
Incumbent:	Condoleezza Rice
First:	Thomas Jefferson
Formation:	April 6, 1789
Presidential Line of Succession:	Fourth

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest ranked cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence.

History

On January 10, 1781, the Second Continental Congress created the Department of Foreign Affairs.^[1] On July 27, 1789, George Washington signed a congressional bill into law reauthorizing an executive Department of Foreign Affairs headed by a Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Congress then passed another law giving certain additional domestic responsibilities to the new Department and changing its name to the Department of State and the name of head of the department to the Secretary of State, and Washington approved this act on September 15, 1789. The new domestic duties assigned to the newly renamed department were receipt, publication, distribution, and preservation of laws of the United States, custody of the Great Seal of the United States, authentication of copies and preparation of commissions of executive branch appointments, and finally custody of the books, papers, and records of the Continental Congress including the Constitution itself and the Declaration of Independence.

The title of Secretary of State is British in origin. At the time of American independence, Britain had two secretaries of state. Both dealt with domestic affairs, but divided foreign affairs based on whether the country was Catholic or Protestant. By the end of the American Revolution, they were reorganized such that there was a Secretary of State for Home Affairs and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Thus, when the U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs was given domestic responsibilities, "Secretary of State" made sense in the historical context as the new name for the officer.

Particularly in the early years of the republic, the post was regarded as a natural stepping-stone to the Presidency. Secretaries of State who later occupied the White House included Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan. Secretaries who unsuccessfully ran for President (either before or after their service at the State Department) were Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, William H. Seward, James G. Blaine, Walter Q. Gresham, John Sherman, Elihu Root, William Jennings Bryan, Charles Evans Hughes and Edmund Muskie.

Functions

Richard Nixon's letter of resignation to Henry Kissinger

Most of the non-original domestic functions of the Department of State have been transferred to other agencies. Those that remain include storage and use of the Great Seal of the United States, performance of protocol functions for the White House, drafting of proclamations, and replies to inquiries. In accordance with the United States Constitution, the Secretary performs such duties as the President requires. These include negotiating with foreign representatives and instructing U.S. embassies or consulates abroad. The Secretary also serves as a principal adviser to the President in the determination of U.S. foreign policy and, in recent decades, has become responsible for overall direction, coordination, and supervision of interdepartmental activities of the U.S. Government overseas, excepting certain military activities.

As the highest-ranking member of the cabinet, the Secretary of State is fourth in line to succeed the Presidency, coming after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. (See United States presidential line of succession.)

Federal law (3 U.S.C. § 20) provides that a presidential resignation must be accomplished by written communication from the President to the Secretary of State. This has occurred once, when President Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974 via a letter to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

When there is a vacancy as Secretary, the office is exercised by another member of the cabinet, as was common in earlier history, or, in more recent times, by a subaltern official of the State Department until the President appoints and the United States Senate confirms a new Secretary.

List of Secretaries of State

#	Picture	Name	State of Residence	Term of Office	President(s) served under
-		John Jay (acting[A])	New York	September 26, 1789 - March 22, 1790	George Washington
1		Thomas Jefferson	Virginia	September 26, 1789 - December 31, 1793	George Washington
2		Edmund Jenings Randolph	Virginia	January 2, 1794 - August 20, 1795	George Washington
3		Timothy Pickering	Massachusetts	August 20 - December 10, 1795 (acting[B])	George Washington John Adams
				December 10, 1795 - May 12, 1800
-		Charles Lee (acting[C])	Virginia	May 13, 1800 - June 5, 1800	John Adams
4		John Marshall	Virginia	June 13, 1800 - March 4, 1801	John Adams
-		Levi Lincoln, Sr. (acting[C])	Massachusetts	March 5, 1801 - May 1, 1801	Thomas Jefferson
5		James Madison	Virginia	May 2, 1801 - March 3, 1809	Thomas Jefferson
6		Robert Smith	Maryland	March 6, 1809 - April 1, 1811	James Madison
7		James Monroe	Virginia	April 2, 1811 - September 30, 1814	James Madison
				September 30, 1814 - February 28, 1815 (acting[B])
				February 28, 1815 - March 3, 1817
-		John Graham (acting)		March 4 - 9, 1817	James Monroe
-		Richard Rush (acting[C])	Pennsylvania	March 10 - September 22, 1817	James Monroe
8		John Quincy Adams	Massachusetts	March 5, 1817 - March 3, 1825	James Monroe
-		Daniel Brent (acting)		March 4 - 7, 1825	John Quincy Adams
9		Henry Clay	Kentucky	March 7, 1825 - March 3, 1829	John Quincy Adams
-		James A. Hamilton (acting)	New York	March 4 - 27, 1829	Andrew Jackson
10		Martin Van Buren	New York	March 28, 1829 - May 23, 1831	Andrew Jackson
11		Edward Livingston	Louisiana	May 24, 1831 - May 29, 1833	Andrew Jackson
12		Louis McLane	Delaware	May 29, 1833 - June 30, 1834	Andrew Jackson
13		John Forsyth	Georgia	July 1, 1834 - March 3, 1841	Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren
-		Jacob L. Martin (acting)		March 4 - 5, 1841	William Henry Harrison
14		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts	March 6, 1841 - May 8, 1843	William Harrison John Tyler
-		Hugh S. Legaré (acting)	South Carolina	May 9, 1843 - June 20, 1843	John Tyler
-		William S. Derrick (acting)		June 21 - 23, 1843	John Tyler
15		Abel P. Upshur	Virginia	June 24 - July 23, 1843 (acting[D])	John Tyler
				July 24, 1843 - February 28, 1844
-		John Nelson (acting[C])	Maryland	February 29 - March 31, 1844	John Tyler
16		John Caldwell Calhoun	South Carolina	April 1, 1844 - March 10, 1845	John Tyler [E]
17		James Buchanan	Pennsylvania	March 10, 1845 - March 7, 1849	James K. Polk [E]
18		John Middleton Clayton	Delaware	March 8, 1849 - July 22, 1850	Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore
19		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts	July 23, 1850 - October 24, 1852	Millard Fillmore
-		Charles M. Conrad (acting[B])	Louisiana	October 25 - November 5, 1852	Millard Fillmore
20		Edward Everett	Massachusetts	November 6, 1852 - March 3, 1853	Millard Fillmore
-		William Hunter (acting[F])	Rhode Island	March 4 - 7, 1853	Franklin Pierce
21		William Learned Marcy	New York	March 7, 1853 - March 6, 1857	Franklin Pierce[E]
22		Lewis Cass	Michigan	March 6, 1857 - December 14, 1860	James Buchanan
-		William Hunter (acting)	Rhode Island	December 15 - 16, 1860	James Buchanan
23		Jeremiah Sullivan Black	Pennsylvania	December 17, 1860 - March 5, 1861	James Buchanan[E]
24		William Henry Seward	New York	March 5, 1861 - March 4, 1869	Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson
25		Elihu Benjamin Washburne	Illinois	March 5 - 16, 1869	Ulysses S. Grant
26		Hamilton Fish	New York	March 17, 1869 - March 12, 1877	Ulysses S. Grant[E]
27		William Maxwell Evarts	New York	March 12, 1877 - March 7, 1881	Rutherford B. Hayes[E]
28		James Gillespie Blaine	Maine	March 7 - December 19, 1881	James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur
29		Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen	New Jersey	December 19, 1881 - March 6, 1885	Chester Arthur[E]
30		Thomas Francis Bayard, Sr.	Delaware	March 7 - March 6, 1889	Grover Cleveland[E]
31		James Gillespie Blaine	Maine	March 7, 1889 - June 4, 1892	Benjamin Harrison
-		William F. Wharton (acting[G])	Massachusetts	June 4 - 29, 1892	Benjamin Harrison
32		John Watson Foster	Indiana	June 29, 1892 - February 23, 1893	Benjamin Harrison
-		William F. Wharton (acting[G])	Massachusetts	February 24 - March 6, 1893	Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland
33		Walter Quintin Gresham	Illinois	March 7, 1893 - May 28, 1895	Grover Cleveland
-		Edwin F. Uhl (acting[G]	Michigan	May 28 - June 9, 1895	Grover Cleveland
34		Richard Olney	Massachusetts	June 10, 1895 - March 5, 1897	Grover Cleveland[E]
35		John Sherman	Ohio	March 6, 1897 - April 27, 1898	William McKinley
-		Alvey A. Adee (acting[H])	New York	September 17 - September 29, 1898	William McKinley
36		William Rufus Day	Ohio	April 28 - September 16, 1898	William McKinley
37		John Milton Hay	District of Columbia	September 30, 1898 - July 1, 1905	William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt
-		Francis B. Loomis (acting[G])	Ohio	July 1 - July 18, 1905	Theodore Roosevelt
38		Elihu Root	New York	July 19, 1905 - January 27, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt
39		Robert Bacon	New York	January 27 - March 5, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt[E]
40		Philander Chase Knox	Pennsylvania	March 6, 1909 - March 5, 1913	William Howard Taft[E]
41		William Jennings Bryan	Nebraska	March 5, 1913 - June 9, 1915	Thomas Woodrow Wilson
42		Robert Lansing	New York	June 9 - 23, 1915 (acting)	Thomas Woodrow Wilson
				June 24, 1915 - February 13, 1920
-		Frank L. Polk (acting[I])	New York	February 14 - March 12, 1920	Thomas Woodrow Wilson
43		Bainbridge Colby	New York	March 23, 1920 - March 4, 1921	Thomas Woodrow Wilson
44		Charles Evans Hughes	New York	March 5, 1921 - March 4, 1925	Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge
45		Frank Billings Kellogg	Minnesota	March 5, 1925 - March 28, 1929	Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover
46		Henry Lewis Stimson	New York	March 28, 1929 - March 4, 1933	Herbert Hoover
47		Cordell Hull	Tennessee	March 4, 1933 - November 30, 1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt
48		Edward Reilly Stettinius, Jr.	Virginia	December 1, 1944 - June 27, 1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman
-		Joseph C. Grew (acting[I])	New Hampshire	June 28 - July 3, 1945	Harry S. Truman
49		James Francis Byrnes	South Carolina	July 3, 1945 - January 21, 1947	Harry S. Truman
50		George Catlett Marshall, Jr.	Pennsylvania	January 21, 1947 - January 20, 1949	Harry S. Truman
51		Dean Gooderham Acheson	Maryland	January 21, 1949 - January 20, 1953	Harry S. Truman
-		Harrison Freeman Matthews (acting[J])	Maryland	January 20 - 21, 1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower
52		John Foster Dulles	New York	January 21, 1953 - April 22, 1959	Dwight D. Eisenhower
53		Christian Archibald Herter	Massachusetts	April 22, 1959 - January 20, 1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
-		Livingston T. Merchant (acting)	District of Columbia	January 20 - 21, 1961	John F. Kennedy
54		David Dean Rusk	New York	January 21, 1961 - January 20, 1969	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
-		Charles E. Bohlen (acting)		January 20 - 22, 1969	Richard Nixon
55		William Pierce Rogers	Maryland	January 22, 1969 - September 3, 1973	Richard Nixon
-		Kenneth Rush (acting)		September 3 - 22, 1973	Richard Nixon
56		Henry Alfred Kissinger	District of Columbia	September 22, 1973 - January 20, 1977	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
-		Philip C. Habib (acting)	California	January 20 - 23, 1977	Jimmy Carter
57		Cyrus Roberts Vance	New York	January 23, 1977 - April 28, 1980	Jimmy Carter
-		Warren Minor Christopher (acting[K])	California	April 28 - May 2, 1980	Jimmy Carter
-		David Newsom (acting[L])		May 2 - 3, 1980	Jimmy Carter
-		Richard N. Cooper (acting)		May 3, 1980	Jimmy Carter
-		David Newsom (acting[L])		May 3 - 4, 1980	Jimmy Carter
-		Warren Minor Christopher (acting[K])	California	May 4 - 8, 1980	Jimmy Carter
58		Edmund Sixtus Muskie	Maine	May 8, 1980 - January 18, 1981	Jimmy Carter
59		Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr.	Connecticut	January 22, 1981 - July 5, 1982	Ronald Reagan
-		Walter J. Stoessel, Jr. (acting[K])	California	July 5 - 16, 1982	Ronald Reagan
60		George Pratt Shultz	California	July 16, 1982 - January 20, 1989	Ronald Reagan
-		Michael H. Armacost (acting[L])	Maryland	January 20 - 25, 1989	George Bush
61		James Addison Baker III	Texas	January 25, 1989 - August 23, 1992	George Bush
62		Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger	Florida	August 23 - December 8, 1992 (acting[K])	George Bush
				December 8, 1992 - January 19, 1993
-		Arnold Lee Kanter (acting[L])	Virginia	January 20, 1993	Bill Clinton
-		Frank G. Wisner (acting)citation needed		January 20, 1993	Bill Clinton
63		Warren Minor Christopher	California	January 20, 1993 - January 17, 1997	Bill Clinton
64		Madeleine Korbel Albright	District of Columbia	January 23, 1997 - January 19, 2001	Bill Clinton
65		Colin Luther Powell	Virginia	January 20, 2001 - January 26, 2005	George W. Bush
66		Condoleezza Rice	California	Since January 26, 2005	George W. Bush

Notes

• ^A As United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs, pending the return of Thomas Jefferson from France.
• ^B As Secretary of War.
• ^C As Attorney General.
• ^D As Secretary of the Navy.
• ^E In addition to the President listed, this Secretary of State served for a brief period of time (eight days or less) under that President's successor until a replacement could be named and confirmed.
• ^F As Chief Clerk of the State Department.
• ^G As Assistant Secretary of State.
• ^H As Second Assistant Secretary of State.
• ^I As Under Secretary of State.
• ^J As Deputy Under Secretary of State.
• ^K As Deputy Secretary of State.
• ^L As Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

References

General

• "Secretaries of State, 1791-2005". United States Department of State (2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-09.

Specific

External links

• The Department of State's organization page.
• The Department of State's list of current or former positions and titles.
• The Department of State's list of Secretaries of State

v • d • e United States Secretaries of State Jefferson • Randolph • Pickering • J Marshall • Madison • Smith • Monroe • Adams • Clay • Van Buren • Livingston • McLane • Forsyth • Webster • Upshur • Calhoun • Buchanan • Clayton • Webster • Everett • Marcy • Cass • Black • Seward • Washburne • Fish • Evarts • Blaine • Frelinghuysen • Bayard • Blaine • Foster • Gresham • Olney • Sherman • Day • Hay • Root • Bacon • Knox • Bryan • Lansing • Colby • Hughes • Kellogg • Stimson • Hull • Stettinius • Byrnes • G Marshall • Acheson • Dulles • Herter • Rusk • Rogers • Kissinger • Vance • Muskie • Haig • Shultz • Baker • Eagleburger • Christopher • Albright • Powell • Rice

v • d • e Agencies under the United States Department of State Deputy Secretary of State Executive Secretariat · Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism · Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization · National Foreign Affairs Training Center · Office of the Legal Adviser · Office of Protocol · Office of War Crimes Issues · Bureau of Intelligence and Research · Bureau of Legislative Affairs · Bureau of Resource Management Under Secretary for Political Offices Bureau of African Affairs · Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs · Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs · Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs · Bureau of International Organization Affairs · Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs · Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs · Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Under Secretary for Management Bureau of Administration · Bureau of Consular Affairs · Bureau of Diplomatic Security · Bureau of Human Resources · Bureau of Information Resource Management · Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations · Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation Under Secretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs · Bureau of Public Affairs · Bureau of International Information Programs Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation · Bureau of Political-Military Affairs · Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor · Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs · Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration · Office of the Science and Technology Adviser · Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons