Secretary of State of the United States of America
Flag of the U.S. Secretary of State United States Department of State
Incumbent John Kerry since February 1, 2013
Department	United States Department of State
Residence	Harry S. Truman Building Washington, D.C., United States
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	July 27, 1789
First holder	Thomas Jefferson
Succession	Fourth
Website	www.state.gov/secretary

The Secretary of State is a senior official of the federal government of the United States of America heading the U.S. Department of State, principally concerned with foreign affairs and is considered to be the U.S. equivalent of a foreign minister.^[1][2]

The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is a member of the President's Cabinet, the National Security Council, and is the highest-ranking appointed executive branch official both in the presidential line of succession and the order of precedence.

The Secretary of State along with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General are generally regarded as the four most important cabinet members because of the importance of their respective departments.^[3] Secretary of State is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level.^[4]

The current Secretary of State is John Kerry, the 68th person to hold the office since its creation in 1789.

Duties and responsibilities [edit]

The specific duties of the Secretary of State include:^[5]

• Organizes and supervises the entire United States Department of State and the United States Foreign Service.
• Advises the President on matters relating to U.S. foreign policy, including the appointment of diplomatic representatives to other nations, and on the acceptance or dismissal of representatives from other nations.
• Participates in high-level negotiations with other countries, either bilaterally or as part of an international conference or organization, or appoints representatives to do so. This includes the negotiation of international treaties and other agreements.
• Responsible for overall direction, coordination, and supervision of interdepartmental activities of the U.S. Government overseas.
• Providing information and services to U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad, including providing credentials in the form of passports and visas.
• Supervises the United States immigration policy abroad.
• Communicates issues relating the United States foreign policy to Congress and to U.S. citizens.

The original duties of the Secretary of State include some domestic duties, such as:^[6]

• Receipt, publication, distribution, and preservation of the laws of the United States
• Preparation, sealing, and recording of the commissions of Presidential appointees
• Preparation and authentication of copies of records and authentication of copies under the Department's seal
• Custody of the Great Seal of the United States
• Custody of the records of the former Secretary of the Continental Congress, except for those of the Treasury and War Departments

Most of the 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, and the drafting of certain proclamations. The Secretary also negotiates with the individual States over the extradition of fugitives to foreign countries.^[5] Under Federal Law,^[7][8] the resignation of a President or of a Vice-President is only valid if declared in writing, in an instrument delivered to the office of the Secretary of State. Accordingly, the resignations of President Nixon and of Vice-President Spiro Agnew, domestic issues, were formalized in instruments delivered to the Secretary of State.

As the highest-ranking member of the cabinet, the Secretary of State is the third-highest official of the executive branch of the Federal Government of the United States, after the President and Vice President and 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. Six Secretaries of State have gone on to be elected President. Others, including Kerry and his immediate predecessor Hillary Rodham Clinton, have been failed presidential candidates.

As the head of the United States Foreign Service, the Secretary of State is responsible for management of the diplomatic service of the United States. The foreign service employs about 12,000 people domestically and internationally, and supports 265 United States diplomatic missions around the world, including ambassadors to various nations.

The nature of the position means that Secretaries of State engage in frequent travel around the world. The record for most countries visited in a secretary's tenure is 112, by Hillary Rodham Clinton.^[9] Second is Madeleine Albright with 96.^[10] The record for most air miles traveled in a secretary's tenure is 1,059,207, by Condoleezza Rice.^[11] Second is Clinton's 956,733 miles.^[9]

When there is a vacancy in the office of Secretary of State, the duties are exercised either by another member of the cabinet, or, in more recent times, by a high-ranking official of the State Department until the President appoints, and the United States Senate confirms, a new Secretary.

List of Secretaries of State [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Secretaries of State of the United States

• Official Website of the Secretary of State
• The Department of State's organization page.
• The Department of State's Office of the Historian

v t e United States Secretaries of State Secretary of Foreign Affairs 1781–1789 R. Livingston Jay Secretary of State 1789–present Jefferson Randolph Pickering J. Marshall Madison Smith Monroe Adams Clay Van Buren E. 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 (Tenure) Clinton (Tenure) Kerry

v t e U.S. Department of State Bureaus and Offices Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building John Kerry, Secretary of State William Joseph Burns, Deputy Secretary of State Deputy Secretary of State & Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Bureau of Budget and Planning Counselor of the Department Director of Foreign Assistance Under Secretary for Political Affairs Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian 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 Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Office of the Science and Technology Adviser Office of the Chief Economist Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Public Affairs Bureau of International Information Programs Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public 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 Diplomatic Reception Rooms Foreign Service Institute Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation Office of Medical Services Office of White House Liaison Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of Global Youth Issues Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Bureaus/Offices reporting directly to the Secretary Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat Office of Civil Rights office of the Legal Adviser Office of Inspector General Office of Policy Planning Staff Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of Global Food Security Office of Global Women's Issues Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator

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