United States Secretary of State

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 they want 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 on 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:
The following are the responsibilities of the Secretary of State. These were added to the duties over time.
Living former secretaries of state.
As of , there are seven living former secretaries of state, the oldest being Henry Kissinger (served 1973–1977). The most recent death of a former secretary of state was that of Madeleine Albright (served 1997–2001) on March 23, 2022. The living former secretaries of state, in order of service, are: