United States Secretary of State

Secretary of State of the United States of America
Seal of the Secretary of State
Flag of the Secretary of State
Incumbent John Kerry since February 1, 2013
United States Department of State
Style	Mr. Secretary
Member of	Cabinet, National Security Council
Reports to	The President
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	22 U.S.C. § 2651
Formation	July 27, 1789
First holder	Thomas Jefferson
Succession	Fourth in the Presidential Line of Succession
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of State, Tony Blinken
Salary	$203,700 annually^[1] (Executive Schedule I)^[2]
Website	www.state.gov

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 policy and is considered to be the U.S. government's equivalent of a Minister for Foreign Affairs.^[3]^[4]

The Secretary of State is appointed by the President of the United States and is confirmed by the United States Senate. The Secretary of State, along with the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, and Attorney General are generally regarded as the four most important cabinet members because of the importance of their respective departments.^[5] Secretary of State is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level.^[6]

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

Duties and responsibilities

The specific duties of the Secretary of State include:^[7]

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.
Ensures the protection of the U.S. Government to American citizens, property, and interests in foreign countries;
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:^[8]

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.^[7] Under Federal Law,^[9]^[10] 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, Henry Kissinger.

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, Hillary Clinton, William Seward, and Henry Clay have been unsuccessful presidential candidates, either before or after their term of office as Secretary of State.

What are the Qualifications of a Secretary of State? He ought to be a Man of universal Reading in Laws, Governments, History. Our whole terrestrial Universe ought to be summarily comprehended in his Mind.^[11]

“

”

—John Adams

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 travel around the world. The record for most countries visited in a secretary's tenure is 112, by Hillary Rodham Clinton.^[12] Second is Madeleine Albright with 96.^[13] The record for most air miles traveled in a secretary's tenure is 1.06 million miles, by John Kerry.^[14] Second is Rice's 1.059 million miles and third is Clinton's 956,733 miles.^[12]

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

Main article: List of Secretaries of State of the United States

References

↑ "Pay & Leave: Salaries & Wages". Salary Table No. 2015-EX. United States Office of Personnel Management. January 1, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
↑ 5 U.S.C. § 5312.
↑ "Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs", Protocol and Liaison Service, United Nations. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
↑ NATO Member Countries, NATO. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
↑ Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch (1997). Congressional Quarterly. p. 87.
↑ 5 U.S.C. § 5312.
1 2 "Duties of the Secretary of State of the United States". www.state.gov. United States Department of State. January 20, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
↑ "Frequently asked questions - Office of the Historian". Office of the Historian, United States Department of State. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
↑ 3 USC §20
↑ 3 USC § 20 - Resignation or refusal of office | LII / Legal Information Institute
↑ Ford, Worthington C., ed. (1927). Statesman and Friend: Correspondence of John Adams with Benjamin Waterhouse, 1784–1822. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company. p. 57.
1 2 Mark Landler (January 4, 2013). "Scare Adds to Fears That Clinton's Work Has Taken Toll". The New York Times.
↑ Lee, Matthew (June 28, 2012). "Frequent flier Hillary Clinton hits 100-country mark". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press.
↑ Associated Press (April 6, 2016). "Kerry breaks record for miles traveled by secretary of state". Fox News .

External links

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

United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by President pro tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch	4th in line	Succeeded by Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew

United States Secretaries of State

Secretary of Foreign Affairs 1781–89	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 (tenure)

United States Department of State

Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building John Kerry, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

Deputy Secretary of State & Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources	Bureau of Budget and Planning Counselor of the Department Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources

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 Department Spokesperson Office of the Historian Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs United States Diplomacy Center

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 Children's Issues Office of eDiplomacy Office of Foreign Missions 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 Anti-Semitism 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 Operations Center Office of Civil Rights Office of Inspector General Office of the Legal Adviser 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 Office of Global Partnerships

Leaders of the United States federal executive departments

Current	Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs

Past	Commerce and Labor Health, Education, and Welfare Navy Post Office War

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