This is a list of
secretaries of state of the United States.
Secretaries of foreign affairs (1781–1789)
On January 10, 1780, the
Confederation Congress
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Marc ...
created the Department of Foreign Affairs.
On August 10, 1781, Congress selected
Robert R. Livingston
Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...
, a delegate from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, as the first Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Livingston was unable to take office until October 20, 1781. He served until June 4, 1783, and was succeeded by
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...
on December 21, 1784, who served until March 4, 1789, when the government under the
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
gave way to the government under the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
.
The office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs were reinstated by a law signed by
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
on July 27, 1789.
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...
retained the post on an interim basis, pending the return of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
from France.
Secretaries of state
On September 15, 1789, before Jefferson could return to take the post, Washington signed into law another act which changed the name of the office from Secretary of Foreign Affairs to
Secretary of State, changed the name of the department to the
Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
, and added several domestic powers and responsibilities to both the office of secretary and the department.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
took office as the first Secretary of State on March 22, 1790.
List of secretaries of state by time in office
This is a list of United States secretaries of state by time in office. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater.
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
is the only person to have served as
Secretary of State for more than eight years.
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
and
James G. Blaine are the only secretaries of state to have ever served non-consecutive terms.
Warren Christopher
Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925March 18, 2011) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as president, he served as the 63rd United States Secretary of State.
Born in Scranton, North Dakota, ...
served very briefly as Acting Secretary of State non-consecutively with his later tenure as full-fledged Secretary of State.
Elihu B. Washburne
Elihu Benjamin Washburne (September 23, 1816 – October 22, 1887) was an Americans, American politician and diplomat. A member of the Washburn family, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the Republican Party (United States), ...
served as Secretary of State for less than two weeks before becoming
Ambassador to France.
Notes
References
Further reading
* Bemis, Samuel Flagg, ed. ''The American secretaries of state and their diplomacy'' (19 vol., 1963) scholarly biographies
partly online* Graebner, Norman A., ed. ''An Uncertain Tradition: American Secretaries of State in the Twentieth Century'' (1961) scholarly essays on John Hay through John Foster Dulles
online* Hopkins, Michael F. "President Harry Truman's Secretaries of State: Stettinius, Byrnes, Marshall and Acheson." ''Journal of Transatlantic Studies'' 6.3 (2008): 290–304.
* Mihalkanin Edward, ed. ''American Statesmen: Secretaries of State from John Jay to Colin Powell'' (2004); short scholarly articles by experts; 572p
online
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Secretaries Of State Of The United States
, L
State, Secretary of
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...