United States Secretary of State

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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. He or she is the highest ranked cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence.

Contents 1 History 2 Functions 3 List of Secretaries of State 3.1 List of Acting Secretaries of State 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

On January 13, 1781, the Second Continental Congress created the office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs to head a "Department of Foreign Affairs". 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, "Secretary of State" was a title given to senior members of the King's cabinet (e.g., "Secretary of State in Charge of Colonies"). The position of "Secretary of State of the United States" was thus intended to be the most general and important office in the U.S. government, after the presidency.

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.

[edit] Functions

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 Cabinet member, the Secretary of State is fourth in line to succeed the Presidency, coming after the Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 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 only occurred once, when President Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974 via a letter to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

[edit] List of Secretaries of State

#	Picture	Name	State of Residence	Term of Office		President(s) served under
				Start	End
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	December 10, 1795	May 12, 1800	George Washington, John Adams
4		John Marshall	Virginia	June 13, 1800	February 4, 1801	John Adams
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
				February 28, 1815	March 3, 1817
8		John Quincy Adams	Massachusetts	March 5, 1817	March 3, 1825	James Monroe
9		Henry Clay	Kentucky	March 7, 1825	March 3, 1829	John Quincy Adams
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
14		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts	March 6, 1841	May 8, 1843	William Harrison, John Tyler
15		Abel Parker Upshur	Virginia	July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844	John Tyler
16		John Caldwell Calhoun	South Carolina	April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845	John Tyler [1]
17		James Buchanan	Pennsylvania	March 10, 1845	March 7, 1849	James Polk [1]
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
20		Edward Everett	Massachusetts	November 6, 1852	March 3, 1853	Millard Fillmore
21		William Learned Marcy	New York	March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857	Franklin Pierce [1]
22		Lewis Cass	Michigan	March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860	James Buchanan
23		Jeremiah Sullivan Black	Pennsylvania	December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861	James Buchanan [1]
24		William Henry Seward	New York	March 5, 1861	March 4, 1869	Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
25		Elihu Benjamin Washburne	Illinois	March 5, 1869	March 16, 1869	Ulysses Grant
26		Hamilton Fish	New York	March 17, 1869	March 12, 1877	Ulysses Grant [1]
27		William Maxwell Evarts	New York	March 12, 1877	March 7, 1881	Rutherford Hayes [1]
28		James Gillespie Blaine	Maine	March 7, 1881	December 19, 1881	James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur
29		Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen	New Jersey	December 19, 1881	March 6, 1885	Chester Arthur [1]
30		Thomas Francis Bayard, Sr.	Delaware	March 7, 1885	March 6, 1889	Grover Cleveland [1]
31		James Gillespie Blaine	Maine	March 7, 1889	June 4, 1892	Benjamin Harrison
32		John Watson Foster	Indiana	June 29, 1892	February 23, 1893	Benjamin Harrison
33		Walter Quintin Gresham	Illinois	March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895	Grover Cleveland
34		Richard Olney	Massachusetts	June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897	Grover Cleveland [1]
35		John Sherman	Ohio	March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898	William McKinley
36		William Rufus Day	Ohio	April 28, 1898	September 16, 1898	William McKinley
37		John Milton Hay	District of Columbia	September 30, 1898	July 1, 1905	William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
38		Elihu Root	New York	July 19, 1905	January 27, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt
39		Robert Bacon	New York	January 27, 1909	March 5, 1909	Theodore Roosevelt [1]
40		Philander Chase Knox	Pennsylvania	March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913	William Taft [1]
41		William Jennings Bryan	Nebraska	March 5, 1913	June 9, 1915	Woodrow Wilson
42		Robert Lansing	New York	June 24, 1915	February 13, 1920	Woodrow Wilson
43		Bainbridge Colby	New York	March 23, 1920	March 4, 1921	Woodrow Wilson
44		Charles Evans Hughes	New York	March 5, 1921	March 4, 1925	Warren 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 Roosevelt
48		Edward Reilly Stettinius, Jr.	Virginia	December 1, 1944	June 27, 1945	Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman
49		James Francis Byrnes	South Carolina	July 3, 1945	January 21, 1947	Harry Truman
50		George Catlett Marshall, Jr.	Pennsylvania	January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949	Harry Truman
51		Dean Gooderham Acheson	Maryland	January 21, 1949	January 20, 1953	Harry Truman
52		John Foster Dulles	New York	January 21, 1953	April 22, 1959	Dwight Eisenhower
53		Christian Archibald Herter	Massachusetts	April 22, 1959	January 20, 1961	Dwight Eisenhower
54		David Dean Rusk	New York	January 21, 1961	January 20, 1969	John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
55		William Pierce Rogers	Maryland	January 22, 1969	September 3, 1973	Richard Nixon
56		Henry Alfred Kissinger	District of Columbia	September 22, 1973	January 20, 1977	Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
57		Cyrus Roberts Vance	New York	January 23, 1977	April 28, 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
60		George Pratt Shultz	California	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989	Ronald Reagan
61		James Addison Baker III	Texas	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992	George H. W. Bush
62		Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger	Florida	December 8, 1992	January 19, 1993	George H. W. Bush
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	January 26, 2005	Present	George W. Bush

[edit] List of Acting Secretaries of State

When there is a vacancy as Secretary, the United States Assistant Secretary of State or the United States Deputy Secretary of State serves as Acting Secretary of State until the President nominates and the United States Senate confirms a new Secretary.

#	Name	Term of Office		President(s) served under
		Start	End
1	John Jay	March 4, 1790	March 22, 1790	George Washington
2	Timothy Pickering	August 20, 1795	December 9, 1795	George Washington
3	Charles Lee	May 13, 1800	June 5, 1800	John Adams
4	John Marshall	February 4, 1801	March 4, 1801	John Adams
5	Levi Lincoln, Sr.	March 5, 1801	May 1, 1801	Thomas Jefferson
6	John Graham	March 4, 1817	March 9, 1817	James Monroe
7	Richard Rush	March 10, 1817	September 22, 1817	James Monroe
8	Daniel Brent	March 4, 1825	March 7, 1825	John Quincy Adams
9	James A. Hamilton	March 4, 1829	March 27, 1829	Andrew Jackson
10	Jacob L. Martin	March 4, 1841	March 5, 1841	William Henry Harrison
11	Hugh S. Legaré	May 9, 1843	June 20, 1843	John Tyler
12	William S. Derrick	June 21, 1843	June 23, 1843	John Tyler
13	Abel P. Upshur	June 24, 1843	July 23, 1843	John Tyler
14	John Nelson	February 29, 1844	March 31, 1844	John Tyler
15	Charles M. Conrad	October 25, 1852	November 5, 1852	Millard Fillmore
16	William Hunter	March 4, 1853	March 7, 1853	Franklin Pierce
17	William Hunter	December 15, 1860	December 16, 1860	James Buchanan
18	William F. Wharton	June 4, 1892	June 29, 1892	Benjamin Harrison
19	William F. Wharton	February 24, 1893	March 6, 1893	Benjamin Harrison (2/24-3/4), Grover Cleveland (3/4-3/6)
20	Edwin F. Uhl	May 28, 1895	June 9, 1895	Grover Cleveland
21	Alvey A. Adee	September 17, 1898	September 29, 1898	William McKinley
22	Francis B. Loomis	July 1, 1905	July 18, 1905	Theodore Roosevelt
23	Robert Lansing	June 9, 1915	June 23, 1915	Woodrow Wilson
24	Frank L. Polk	February 14, 1920	March 12, 1920	Woodrow Wilson
25	Joseph C. Grew	June 28, 1945	July 3, 1945	Harry S. Truman
26	H. Freeman Matthews	January 20, 1953	January 21, 1953	Dwight Eisenhower
27	Livingston T. Merchant	January 20, 1961	January 21, 1961	John F. Kennedy
28	Charles E. Bohlen	January 20, 1969	January 22, 1969	Richard Nixon
29	Kenneth Rush	September 3, 1973	September 22, 1973	Richard Nixon
30	Philip C. Habib	January 20, 1977	January 23, 1977	Jimmy Carter
31	Warren Christopher	April 28, 1980	May 2, 1980	Jimmy Carter
32	David Newsom	May 2, 1980	May 3, 1980	Jimmy Carter
33	Richard N. Cooper	May 3, 1980		Jimmy Carter
34	David Newsom	May 3, 1980	May 4, 1980	Jimmy Carter
35	Warren Christopher	May 4, 1980	May 8, 1980	Jimmy Carter
36	Walter J. Stoessel, Jr.	July 5, 1982	July 16, 1982	Ronald Reagan
37	Michael H. Armacost	January 20, 1989	January 25, 1989	George H. W. Bush
38	Lawrence Eagleburger	August 23, 1992	December 8, 1992	George H. W. Bush
39	Arnold Lee Kanter	January 20, 1993		Bill Clinton
40	Frank G. Wisner	January 20, 1993		Bill Clinton

[edit] See also

• United States Deputy Secretary of State
• United States Assistant Secretary of State
• United States Second Assistant Secretary of State

[edit] References

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

[edit] 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 Secretaries of State of the United States of America

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 International Information Programs · Office of the Legal Adviser · Office of Protocol · Office of the Science and Technology Adviser · Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons · 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

v • d • e Leaders of the United States Federal Executive Departments
Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Education • Energy • Health and Human Services • Homeland Security • Housing and Urban Development • Interior • Justice • Labor • State • Transportation • Treasury • Veterans Affairs Past department leaders: Commerce and Labor • Health, Education, and Welfare • Navy • Post Office • War