This is a list of United States secretaries of state.

Secretaries of foreign affairs (1781–1789) On January 10, 1780, the Congress of the Confederation created the Department of Foreign Affairs.

On August 10, 1781, Congress selected Robert R. Livingston, a delegate from New York, 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 Elias Boudinot, who was succeeded by John Jay on December 21, 1784, who served until March 4, 1789, when the government under the Articles of Confederation gave way to the government under the Constitution.

The office of secretary of foreign affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs were reinstated by a law signed by George Washington on July 27, 1789. John Jay retained the post on an interim basis, pending the return of Thomas Jefferson from France.

+ PortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft office1 New York2 New Jersey3 New York— New York

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, and added several domestic powers and responsibilities to both the office of secretary and the department. Thomas Jefferson took office as the first secretary of state on March 22, 1790.

18th and 19th centuries List of secretaries of state from September 15, 1789 to September 29, 1898 SecretaryPartyTerm of officePresident(s)PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTerm Length–Federalist–New York(1789–1797)1Democratic-Republican–Virginia2Federalist–Virginia3Federalist–Pennsylvania(1797–1801)–Federalist–Virginia4Federalist–Virginia–Democratic-Republican–Massachusetts(1801–1809)5Democratic-Republican–Virginia6Democratic-Republican–Maryland(1809–1817)7Democratic-Republican30–0Virginia–Democratic-Republican–Kentucky(1817–1825)–Federalist–Pennsylvania8Democratic-Republican29–1Massachusetts–Democratic-Republican–Virginia(1825–1829)9Democratic-Republican27–14KentuckyNationalRepublican–Democratic–New York(1829–1837)10Democratic25–7New York11Democratic–Louisiana12DemocraticDelaware13Democratic–Georgia(1837–1841)–––District ofColumbia(1841)14Whig–Massachusetts(1841–1845)–Democratic–South Carolina–––Pennsylvania15Whig–Virginia–Whig–Maryland16Democratic–South Carolina17Democratic–Pennsylvania(1845–1849)18Whig–Delaware(1849–1850)(1850–1853)19Whig–Massachusetts–Whig–Louisiana20Whig–Massachusetts–––Rhode Island(1853–1857)21Democratic–New York22Democratic–Michigan(1857–1861)–––Rhode Island23Democratic–New York24Republican–New York(1861–1865)(1865–1869)25Republican–Illinois(1869–1877)26Republican–New York27Republican44–2New York(1877–1881)28Republican–Maine(1881)(1881–1885)29Republican–New Jersey30Democratic–Delaware(1885–1889)31Republican–Maine(1889–1893)–Republican–Massachusetts32Republican–Indiana–Republican–Massachusetts(1893–1897)33Democratic–Illinois–Democratic–Michigan34Democratic–Massachusetts35Republican–Ohio(1897–1901)36Republican–Ohio–Independent–New York

20th and 21st centuries List of secretaries of state from September 30, 1898 to the present. SecretaryPartyTerm of officePresident(s)PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTerm37Republican–District ofColumbia(1901–1909)–Republican–Ohio38Republican–New York39Republican–New York40Republican–Pennsylvania(1909–1913)41Democratic–Nebraska(1913–1921)42Democratic–New York–Democratic–New York43Democratic–New York44Republican–New York(1921–1923)(1923–1929)45Republican–Minnesota(1929–1933)46Republican–New York47Democratic–Tennessee(1933–1945)48Democratic68–1Virginia(1945–1953)–Independent–New Hampshire49Democratic–South Carolina50Independent–Pennsylvania51Democratic83–6Maryland–Independent–Maryland(1953–1961)52Republican–New York53Republican93–0Massachusetts–Independent–District ofColumbia(1961–1963)54Democratic– New York (1963–1969)–Independent–District ofColumbia(1969–1974)55Republican–Maryland–Republican–Florida56Republican78–7District ofColumbia(1974–1977)–Independent–California(1977–1981)57DemocraticVoiceNew York–Democratic–California–Independent–California–Independent–Connecticut–Independent–California–Democratic–California58Democratic94–2Maine–Independent–California59Republican93–6Connecticut(1981–1989)–Independent–California60Republican97–0California–Independent–Maryland(1989–1993)61Republican99–0Texas62Republican–FloridaRecessDecember 8, 1992January 20, 1993–Independent–District ofColumbia–Independent–District ofColumbia(1993–2001)63DemocraticVoiceCalifornia64Democratic99–0District ofColumbia65RepublicanVoiceVirginia(2001–2009)66Republican85–13California–Independent–District ofColumbia(2009–2017)67Democratic94–2New York68Democratic94–3Massachusetts–Republican–Minnesota(2017–2021)69Republican55–43Texas–Republican–Massachusetts70Republican57–42Kansas–Independent–Virginia(2021–2025)71Democratic78–22New York–Independent–New York(2025–present)–Independent–Vermont72Republican99–0presentFlorida

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 is the only person to have served as secretary of state for more than eight years. Daniel Webster and James G. Blaine are the only secretaries of state to have ever served non-consecutive terms. Warren Christopher served very briefly as acting secretary of state non-consecutively with his later tenure as full-fledged secretary of state. Elihu B. Washburne served as secretary of state for less than two weeks before becoming ambassador to France. No. in officeSecretaryLength of service(days)Rank471542242645586377138609521072011114212551314/19161714315451628/311472176765195120213040446325641792827296630716832463313422356136383756385739294070414142334310446451146504753483449725025149525953185469 553556125743346581634359460582576132239621521963482086436141652011766237867624368393769251170

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; 572pp online

External links