United States Secretary of State facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of State
Flag of the Secretary of State
Seal of the Secretary of State
Incumbent Antony Blinken since January 26, 2021
United States Department of State
Style	Mr./Madam Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal) His/Her Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Constituting instrument	22 U.S.C. § 2651
Precursor	Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Formation	July 27, 1789 (1789-07-27)
First holder	Thomas Jefferson
Succession	Fourth
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of State
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I

The United States Secretary of State (commonly abbreviated as SecState) is the head of the United States Department of State. This department deals with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. This person is the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The President chooses the person he or she wants to be Secretary of the State. The United States Senate must agree with this choice for the person to become the Secretary of State.

The position of Secretary of State was created in April 6, 1789. Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary. The Presidential order of succession lists the Secretary of State as the 4th person in line if something happens to the President.

Duties

The first duties of the Secretary of State included:

• Publication, distribution, and preservation of the laws of the United States
• Managing the commissions of people the President puts into office.
• 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

The following are the responsibilities of the Secretary of State. These were added to the duties over time.

• In control of the United States Department of State and the United States Foreign Service.
• Adviser to the President on matters dealing with other countries. This includes choosing diplomats to other nations and dealing with diplomats from other nations.
• Takes part in high-level negotiations with other countries. The Secretary deals with both single nations and international conferences or organizations. This includes the negotiation of international treaties.
• In control of the direction, coordination, and supervision of activities of the U.S. Government in other countries when more than one government department is involved.
• Support U.S. citizens living or traveling in other countries. This includes information, passports, visas and other services.
• Supervises the United States immigration policy in other countries.
• Communicates problems dealing with the United States foreign policy to Congress and to U.S. citizens.

List of Secretaries of State

Denotes acting Secretary of State

No.	Secretary		State of residence	Senate confirmation vote	Took office	Left office	President(s)
—		John Jay Acting	New York		September 15, 1789	March 22, 1790	George Washington (Unaffiliated)
1		Thomas Jefferson	Virginia		March 22, 1790	December 31, 1793
2		Edmund Randolph	Virginia		January 2, 1794	August 20, 1795
3		Timothy Pickering	Pennsylvania		August 20, 1795	December 10, 1795
					December 10, 1795	March 4, 1797
					March 4, 1797	May 12, 1800	John Adams (Federalist)
—		Charles Lee Acting	Virginia		May 13, 1800	June 5, 1800
4		John Marshall	Virginia		June 13, 1800	March 4, 1801
—		Levi Lincoln Sr. Acting	Massachusetts		March 5, 1801	May 1, 1801	Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican)
5		James Madison	Virginia		May 2, 1801	March 3, 1809
6		Robert Smith	Maryland		March 6, 1809	April 1, 1811	James Madison (Democratic-Republican)
7		James Monroe	Virginia		April 2, 1811	March 3, 1817
—		John Graham Acting	Kentucky		March 4, 1817	March 9, 1817	James Monroe (Democratic-Republican)
—		Richard Rush Acting	Pennsylvania		March 10, 1817	September 22, 1817
8		John Quincy Adams	Massachusetts		September 22, 1817	March 3, 1825
—		Daniel Brent Acting	Virginia		March 4, 1825	March 7, 1825	John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican)
9		Henry Clay	Kentucky		March 7, 1825	March 3, 1829
—		James Alexander Hamilton Acting	New York		March 4, 1829	March 27, 1829	Andrew Jackson (Democratic)
10		Martin Van Buren	New York		March 28, 1829	May 23, 1831
11		Edward Livingston	Louisiana		May 24, 1831	May 29, 1833
12		Louis McLane	Delaware		May 29, 1833	June 30, 1834
13		John Forsyth	Georgia		July 1, 1834	March 4, 1837
					March 4, 1837	March 3, 1841	Martin Van Buren (Democratic)
—		Jacob L. Martin Acting	District of Columbia		March 4, 1841	March 5, 1841	William Harrison (Whig)
14		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts		March 6, 1841	April 4, 1841
					April 4, 1841	May 8, 1843	John Tyler (Whig)
—		Hugh S. Legaré Acting	South Carolina		May 9, 1843	June 20, 1843
—		William S. Derrick Acting	Pennsylvania		June 21, 1843	June 23, 1843
15		Abel P. Upshur	Virginia		June 24, 1843	July 23, 1843
					July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844
—		John Nelson Acting	Maryland		February 29, 1844	March 31, 1844
16		John C. Calhoun	South Carolina		April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845
17		James Buchanan	Pennsylvania		March 10, 1845	March 7, 1849	James K. Polk (Democratic)
18		John M. Clayton	Delaware		March 8, 1849	July 9, 1850	Zachary Taylor (Whig)
					July 9, 1850	July 22, 1850	Millard Fillmore (Whig)
19		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts		July 23, 1850	October 24, 1852
—		Charles M. Conrad Acting	Louisiana		October 25, 1852	November 5, 1852
20		Edward Everett	Massachusetts		November 6, 1852	March 3, 1853
—		William Hunter Acting	Rhode Island		March 4, 1853	March 7, 1853	Franklin Pierce (Democratic)
21		William L. Marcy	New York		March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857
22		Lewis Cass	Michigan		March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860	James Buchanan (Democratic)
—		William Hunter Acting	Rhode Island		December 15, 1860	December 16, 1860
23		Jeremiah S. Black	Pennsylvania		December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861
24		William H. Seward	New York		March 5, 1861	April 15, 1865	Abraham Lincoln (Republican)
					April 15, 1865	March 4, 1869	Andrew Johnson (Democratic)
25		Elihu B. Washburne	Illinois		March 5, 1869	March 16, 1869	Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
26		Hamilton Fish	New York		March 17, 1869	March 4, 1877
					March 4, 1877	March 12, 1877	Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)
27		William M. Evarts	New York		March 12, 1877	March 7, 1881
28		James G. Blaine	Maine		March 7, 1881	September 19, 1881	James A. Garfield (Republican)
					September 19, 1881	December 19, 1881	Chester A. Arthur (Republican)
29		Frederick T. Frelinghuysen	New Jersey		December 19, 1881	March 6, 1885
30		Thomas F. Bayard	Delaware		March 7, 1885	March 6, 1889	Grover Cleveland (Democratic)
31		James G. Blaine	Maine		March 7, 1889	June 4, 1892	Benjamin Harrison (Republican)
—		William F. Wharton Acting	Massachusetts		June 4, 1892	June 29, 1892
32		John W. Foster	Indiana		June 29, 1892	February 23, 1893
—		William F. Wharton Acting	Massachusetts		February 24, 1893	March 6, 1893
							Grover Cleveland (Democratic)
33		Walter Q. Gresham	Illinois		March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895
–		Edwin F. Uhl Acting	Michigan		May 28, 1895	June 9, 1895
34		Richard Olney	Massachusetts		June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897
35		John Sherman	Ohio		March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898	William McKinley (Republican)
36		William R. Day	Ohio		April 28, 1898	September 16, 1898
—		Alvey A. Adee Acting	New York		September 17, 1898	September 29, 1898
37		John Hay	District of Columbia		September 30, 1898	September 14, 1901
					September 14, 1901	July 1, 1905	Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)
—		Francis B. Loomis Acting	Ohio		July 1, 1905	July 18, 1905
38		Elihu Root	New York		July 19, 1905	January 27, 1909
39		Robert Bacon	New York		January 27, 1909	March 5, 1909
40		Philander C. Knox	Pennsylvania		March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913	William Howard Taft (Republican)
41		William Jennings Bryan	Nebraska		March 5, 1913	June 9, 1915	Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)
42		Robert Lansing	New York		June 9, 1915	June 23, 1915
					June 24, 1915	February 13, 1920
—		Frank Polk Acting	New York		February 14, 1920	March 12, 1920
43		Bainbridge Colby	New York		March 23, 1920	March 4, 1921
44		Charles Evans Hughes	New York		March 5, 1921	August 2, 1923	Warren G. Harding (Republican)
					August 2, 1923	March 4, 1925	Calvin Coolidge (Republican)
45		Frank B. Kellogg	Minnesota		March 5, 1925	March 4, 1929
					March 4, 1929	March 28, 1929	Herbert Hoover (Republican)
46		Henry L. Stimson	New York		March 28, 1929	March 4, 1933
47		Cordell Hull	Tennessee		March 4, 1933	November 30, 1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)
48		Edward Stettinius Jr.	Virginia		December 1, 1944	April 12, 1945
					April 12, 1945	June 27, 1945	Harry S. Truman (Democratic)
—		Joseph Grew Acting	New Hampshire		June 28, 1945	July 3, 1945
49		James F. Byrnes	South Carolina		July 3, 1945	January 21, 1947
50		George Marshall	Pennsylvania		January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949
51		Dean Acheson	Maryland		January 21, 1949	January 20, 1953
—		H. Freeman Matthews Acting	Maryland		January 20, 1953	January 21, 1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
52		John Foster Dulles	New York		January 21, 1953	April 22, 1959
53		Christian Herter	Massachusetts		April 22, 1959	January 20, 1961
—		Livingston T. Merchant Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 1961	January 21, 1961	John F. Kennedy (Democratic)
54		Dean Rusk	New York		January 21, 1961	November 22, 1963
					November 22, 1963	January 20, 1969	Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)
—		Charles E. Bohlen Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 1969	January 22, 1969	Richard Nixon (Republican)
55		William P. Rogers	Maryland		January 22, 1969	September 3, 1973
—		Kenneth Rush Acting	Florida		September 3, 1973	September 22, 1973
56		Henry Kissinger	District of Columbia	78-7	September 22, 1973	August 9, 1974
					August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977	Gerald Ford (Republican)
—		Philip Habib Acting	California		January 20, 1977	January 23, 1977	Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
57		Cyrus Vance	New York	Voice Vote	January 23, 1977	April 28, 1980
—		Warren Christopher Acting	California		April 28, 1980	May 2, 1980
—		David D. Newsom Acting			May 2, 1980	May 3, 1980
—					May 3, 1980	May 3, 1980
—		David D. Newsom Acting			May 3, 1980	May 4, 1980
—		Warren Christopher Acting	California		May 4, 1980	May 8, 1980
58		Edmund Muskie	Maine	94-2	May 8, 1980	January 20, 1981
59		Alexander Haig	Connecticut	93-6	January 22, 1981	July 5, 1982	Ronald Reagan (Republican)
—		Walter J. Stoessel Jr. Acting	California		July 5, 1982	July 16, 1982
60		George Shultz	California	97-0	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989
—		Michael Armacost Acting	Maryland		January 20, 1989	January 25, 1989	George H. W. Bush (Republican)
61		James Baker	Texas	99-0	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992
62		Lawrence Eagleburger	Florida		August 23, 1992	December 8, 1992
				Recess Appointment	December 8, 1992	January 19, 1993
—		Arnold Kanter Acting	Virginia		January 20, 1993		Bill Clinton (Democratic)
—		Frank G. Wisner Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 1993
63		Warren Christopher	California	Voice Vote	January 20, 1993	January 17, 1997
64		Madeleine Albright	District of Columbia	99-0	January 23, 1997	January 20, 2001
65		Colin Powell	Virginia	Voice Vote	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005	George W. Bush (Republican)
66		Condoleezza Rice	California	85-13	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009
—		William Joseph Burns Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 2009	January 21, 2009	Barack Obama (Democratic)
67		Hillary Clinton	New York	94-2	January 21, 2009	February 1, 2013
68		John Kerry	Massachusetts	94-3	February 1, 2013	January 20, 2017
—		Tom Shannon Acting	Minnesota		January 20, 2017	February 1, 2017	Donald Trump (Republican)
69		Rex Tillerson	Texas	55-43	February 1, 2017	March 31, 2018
—		John J. Sullivan Acting	Massachusetts		April 1, 2018	April 26, 2018
70		Mike Pompeo	Kansas	57-42	April 26, 2018	January 20, 2021
—		Daniel Bennett Smith Acting	Virginia		January 20, 2021	January 26, 2021	Joe Biden (Democratic)
71		Antony Blinken	New York	78-22	January 26, 2021