United States of America, and as head of the U.S. Department of State, is principally concerned with foreign policy and is considered to be the U.S. government's equivalent of a Minister for Foreign Affairs.[4][5] The Secretary of State is nominated by the President of the United States and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 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.[6] Secretary of State is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level (currently $205,700).[3] The current acting Secretary of State is John J. Sullivan. On March 13, 2018, President Donald Trump
Donald Trump dismissed Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson and nominated current CIA
CIA Director Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo to replace Tillerson.[7][8] Tillerson announced later that day that his last day at the State Department will be March 31, 2018.[9] Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will serve as the Acting Secretary of State from April 1,[10] pending Senate confirmation of Pompeo’s appointment.
Contents
1 Duties and responsibilities 2 List of Secretaries of State 3 References 4 External links
Duties and responsibilities[edit] The stated duties of the Secretary of State are as follows:[11]
"Supervises the
United States
United States Foreign Service" and "administers the
Department of State"
Advises the President on matters relating to U.S. foreign policy
including the appointment of diplomatic representatives to other
nations and on the acceptance, recall, or dismissal of representatives
from other nations
"Negotiates, interprets, or terminates treaties and agreements" and
"conducts negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs"
"Personally participates in or directs U.S. representatives to
international conferences, organizations, and agencies"
Provides information and services to U.S. citizens living or traveling
abroad such as providing credentials in the form of passports
"Ensures the protection of the U.S. Government to American citizens,
property, and interests in foreign countries"
"Supervises the administration of the U.S. immigration policy abroad"
Communicates issues relating the U.S. foreign policy to Congress and
to U.S. citizens
"Promotes beneficial economic intercourse between the U.S. and other
countries"
The original duties of the Secretary of State include some domestic duties such as:[citation needed]
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 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.[12]
Under Federal Law,[13] 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 Henry Clay,
William Seward, James Blaine, William Jennings Bryan, John Kerry, and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton have been unsuccessful presidential candidates, either
before or after their term of office as Secretary of State.
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 Clinton.[14] Second is Madeleine
Albright with 96.[15] The record for most air miles traveled in a
secretary's tenure is 1.380 million miles by John Kerry.[16] Second is
Condoleezza Rice's 1.059 million miles, and third is Clinton's 956,733
miles.[14]
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. “ ”
—John Adams[17]
List of Secretaries of State[edit] Further information: List of Secretaries of State of the United States
References[edit]
^ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice
President; officers eligible to act". Cornell Law School.
^ "Pay & Leave: Salaries & Wages". Salary Table No. 2015-EX.
United States
United States Office of Personnel Management. January 1, 2015.
Retrieved January 4, 2016.
^ a b 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
NATO Member Countries, NATO. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
^ Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch
(1997). Congressional Quarterly. p. 87.
^ Haaretz (2018-03-13). "Meet Mike Pompeo, Trump's Reported New
Hardliner Secretary of State". Haaretz. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
^ "
Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson out as secretary of state;
CIA
CIA Director Mike Pompeo
will replace him". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
^ "Trump fires
Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson as secretary of state". 2018-03-13.
Retrieved 2018-03-13.
^ "The Deputy Secretary, John J. Sullivan, became Acting Secretary of
State on April 1, 2018". Retrieved 2018-04-03.
^ "Duties of the Secretary of State". U.S. Department of State.
Retrieved February 1, 2017.
^ "Duties of the Secretary of State of the United States".
www.state.gov.
United States
United States Department of State. January 20, 2009.
Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^ "3 U.S. Code § 20 - Resignation or refusal of office".
^ a b 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
Hillary Clinton hits
100-country mark". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press. Archived from
the original on June 28, 2012.
^
Associated Press
Associated Press (April 6, 2016). "Kerry breaks record for miles
traveled by secretary of state". Fox News.
^ Ford, Worthington C., ed. (1927). Statesman and Friend:
Correspondence of
John Adams
John Adams with Benjamin Waterhouse, 1784–1822.
Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company. p. 57.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secretaries of State of the United States.
Wikiquote has quotations related to:
United States
United States Secretary of State
Listen to this article (info/dl)
This audio file was created from a revision of the article "United States Secretary of State" dated 2010-02-23, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help) More spoken articles
Official website
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Ambassadors from the United States (while at their posts) Order of Precedence of the United States as Secretary of State Succeeded by Ambassadors to the United States (in order of tenure)
Preceded by Otherwise Barack Obama as Former President Succeeded by Otherwise António Guterres as Secretary-General of the United Nations
Current U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by President pro tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch 4th in line Succeeded by Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin
v t e
United States
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) Tillerson
v t e
Agencies under the
United States
United States Department of State
Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State
John Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Tom Shannon, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Counselor of the Department Executive Secretariat Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources Operations Center
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 to the Secretary 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
United States Diplomacy Center
Under Secretary for Management
Bureau of Administration
Bureau of Budget and Planning
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
White House Liaison
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism 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
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
United States Global AIDS Coordinator
Office of Global Partnerships
v t e
Leaders of the
United States
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
v t e
Presidential line of succession in the
United States
United States of America
Vice President (Mike Pence) Speaker of the House of Representatives (Paul Ryan) President pro tempore of the Senate (Orrin Hatch) Secretary of State (John Sullivan[a]) Secretary of the Treasury (Steven Mnuchin) Secretary of Defense (Jim Mattis) Attorney General (Jeff Sessions) Secretary of the Interior (Ryan Zinke) Secretary of Agriculture (Sonny Perdue) Secretary of Commerce (Wilbur Ross) Secretary of Labor (Alex Acosta) Secretary of Health and Human Services (Alex Azar) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Ben Carson) Secretary of Transportation (Elaine Chao[b]) Secretary of Energy (Rick Perry) Secretary of Education (Betsy DeVos) Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Robert Wilkie) Secretary of Homeland Security (Kirstjen Nielsen)
^ Sullivan serves as the Acting Secretary of State, and is thus
ineligible for the presidency.
Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo has been formally nominated
for the position by Donald Trump.
^ Although
Elaine Chao
Elaine Chao is the current Secretary of Transportation, she
is not a natural-born citizen (acquired U.S. citizenship by
naturalization) and thus ineligible f