United States Secretary of State

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Antony Blinken , Foreign Minister since January 26, 2021

The Secretary of State (United States Secretary of State) leads the United States Department of State (United States Department of State) and is a member of the Cabinet of the President . He is responsible for the implementation of the United States' international relations . Actually, as Secretary of State referred, can the post of United States Secretary of State most likely as foreign ministertranslate, as its duties and powers have largely been reduced to foreign policy over the years. However, since the office still has certain domestic political tasks to carry out, the designation as foreign minister is not completely identical. Antony Blinken has been the incumbent since January 26, 2021 .

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On January 10, 1781, the 2nd Continental Congress established the Office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs to lead a "Department for External Relations". After several congressional ordinances and expanded areas of responsibility, the Department of State was created during George Washington's presidency in 1789 , initially with the head of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs .

The title Secretary of State is of British origin. At the time it was a title for honorary members of the House of Lords . The title Secretary of State of the United States was therefore chosen to name the most important office of the federal government after the president. At that time, the Secretary of State was entrusted with other duties than it is today and was much more than just Secretary of State. Since 1972 the incumbent has been supported and, if necessary, represented by a deputy foreign minister .

Responsibilities

Seal of the United States Department of State

Most of the Department of State's domestic political functions have been delegated to other offices. The remaining include: keeping and using the Great Seal of the United States , performing protocol duties for the White House, and responding to public inquiries. In addition, the minister represents the president in correspondence with other ministers and ambassadors abroad and negotiates with foreign government representatives. The Secretary of State serves as the main adviser to the President in defining and executing American foreign policy and has for decades been responsible for the general direction, coordination and supervision of the cooperation between the various federal government departments in activities abroad, other than certain military operations.

As the senior cabinet member, the Secretary of State ranks fourth in succession to the President of the United States . In front of him stand the Vice President , the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate .

In addition, federal law provides that the resignation of a president shall only take effect through written communication between the president and the foreign minister. This has happened once to date when President Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974 through a letter of abdication to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger .

For a list of U.S. Secretary of State , see United States Department of State # List of U.S. Secretary of State .

literature

  • Edward S. Mihalkanin (Ed.): American Statesmen: Secretaries of State from John Jay to Colin Powell . Greenwood Publishing 2004, ISBN 978-0-313-30828-4 .

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