secretary of state

(noun)

The U.S. Secretary of State is analogous to the foreign minister of other nations and is the official charged with state-to-state diplomacy, although the president has ultimate authority over foreign policy; that policy includes defining the national interest, as well as the strategies chosen both to safeguard that and to achieve its policy goals. The current Secretary of State is John Kerry.

Related Terms

Examples of secretary of state in the following topics:

  • The Cabinet

    • The secretary of state and secretary of defense play key roles in assisting the president with foreign policy.
    • This includes the secretary of state and the secretary of defense.
    • The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, which is concerned with foreign affairs.
    • The specific duties of the Secretary of State include:
    • Compare and contrast the roles of the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense in U.S. foreign policy

  • The Executive Departments

    • The State Department (formally known as the Department of State) is the highest ranking executive department and is headed by the Secretary of State.
    • The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing international diplomacy.
    • The current Secretary of State, appointed by President Barack Obama, is Hillary Clinton.
    • These secretaries, or Cabinet members, are the most senior appointed officials in the executive branch of the United States government.
    • The Secretary of State is the highest ranking executive department office, and is currently held by Hillary Clinton.

  • The Cabinet

    • The Secretary of State designate is reviewed and presented to the full Senate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
    • Hillary Rodham Clinton assumed the office of Secretary of State on January 21, 2009.
    • The existence of the Cabinet dates back to the first President of the United States, George Washington, who appointed a Cabinet of four men: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph to advise him and to assist him in carrying out his duties.
    • John Kerry is the current Secretary of State for President Obama's second term, replacing Hillary Clinton.
    • Holder, Jr., Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

  • United States in the World

    • Secretary of State is analogous to the foreign minister of other nations and is the official charged with state-to-state diplomacy, although the president has ultimate authority over foreign policy; that policy includes defining the national interest, as well as the strategies chosen both to safeguard that and to achieve its policy goals.
    • The current Secretary of State is John Kerry.
    • Having been nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and then confirmed by the U.S.
    • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with British Foreign Secretary William Hague
    • Secretary Clinton met with British Foreign Secretary William Hague in the Treaty Room at the Department of State, May 14, 2010

  • Foreign Policy

    • Foreign policy is designed to protect the national interests of the state.
    • Secretary of State is analogous to the foreign minister of other nations and is the official charged with state-to-state diplomacy, although the president has ultimate authority over foreign policy.
    • Secretary of State is John Kerry.
    • Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discusses agriculture and environmental issues in Kenya.
    • The Secretary of State is a primary leader in determining U.S. foreign policy.

  • Cabinet Departments

    • The Cabinet of the United States consists of the highest-ranking appointed officers in the executive branch of the federal government: the secretaries of each of the 15 executive departments.
    • At the top of each department is the secretary (in the Department of Justice, the highest office is called the "attorney general," but the role is parallel to that of the secretary of state, defense, etc.).
    • The first president of the United States, George Washington, established the tradition of having a cabinet of advisors.
    • George Washington thus began the practice of having a formal cabinet of advisors when he appointed Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.
    • The three oldest executive departments are the Department of State, the Department of War, and the Treasury, all of which were established in 1789.

  • A Typical Department Structure

    • Executive departments are organized with secretaries at the top of the hierarchy, followed by deputy secretaries and under secretaries.
    • There are 15 current executive departments, whose secretaries comprise the Cabinet: the Departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security.
    • At the top of each department is the secretary (in the Department of Justice, the highest office is called the "attorney general," but the role is the same as that of the secretary of state, defense, etc.).
    • The deputy secretary advises and assists the secretary, and fills the Office of Secretary if it becomes vacant.
    • Below the level of deputy secretary, departmental organization varies.

  • The Powers of State Government

    • The legislative branch of the states consists of state legislatures.
    • In the majority of states, the state legislature is called the Legislature.
    • These include the offices of Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, auditors, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Education.
    • Map of the United States.
    • Each of the state has its own government.

  • The Bureaucracy

    • The United States Department of State (DoS), often referred to as the State Department, is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for the international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries.
    • The Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and is a member of the Cabinet.
    • As stated by the Department of State, its purpose includes:
    • The Department – headed by the Secretary of Defense – has three subordinate military departments: the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force.
    • The Military Departments are each headed by their own Secretary, appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

  • Obama vs. the Lobbyists?

    • On January 21, 2009, Obama issued an executive order for all future appointees to his administration, which stated, no appointee who was a registered lobbyist within the two years before his appointment could participate on matters in which he lobbied for a period of two years after the date of appointment.
    • Lynn III, a lobbyist for Raytheon, to hold the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense; to Jocelyn Frye, former general counsel at the National Partnership for Women and Families, to serve as Director of Policy and Projects in the Office of the First Lady; and to Cecilia Muñoz, former senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza, to serve as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President.
    • Not all recent former lobbyists require waivers; those without waivers write letters of recusal stating issues from which they must refrain because of their previous jobs.
    • Lobbyists in the administration include William Corr, an anti-tobacco lobbyist, as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and Tom Vilsack, who lobbied in 2007, for a national teachers union, as Secretary of Agriculture.
    • Also, the Secretary of Labor nominee, Hilda Solis, formerly served as a board member of American Rights at Work, which lobbied Congress on two bills Solis co-sponsored, and Mark Patterson, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's chief of staff, is a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs.