secretary of state

Or Secretary of State

noun

1. the head and chief administrator of the U.S. Department of State.

2. British.,  any of several ministers in the British government.

   A new secretary of state for the Home Department has been appointed.

3. (in the U.S.) the appointed or elected official in a state government whose chief function is to distribute statutes, administer elections, keep archives, etc.

secretary of state

noun

1. (in Britain) the head of any of several government departments

2. (in the US) the head of the government department in charge of foreign affairs ( State Department )

3. (in certain US states) an official with various duties, such as keeping records

secretary of state

1. The head of the United States Department of State and, as leading member of the cabinet, fourth in line of succession to the presidency. The secretary of state is charged with formulating American foreign policy and conducting relations with other nations.

Word History and Origins

Origin of secretary of state¹

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

Former secretary of state Baroness Nicky Morgan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it had been a "long battle" to see such measures established.

Read more on BBC

Christopher Landau, U.S. deputy secretary of state, hailed Paz’s election as a “great moment of rebirth” for Bolivian-U.S. relations, after attending his recent inauguration.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“It’s too early to be hitting the panic button yet,” says Daniel Kritenbrink, a partner at the consultancy The Asia Group and previously the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Read more on Barron's

Bolivia elected a centrist, pro-market president last month after nearly two decades of socialist rule, his inauguration attended by Christopher Landau, the U.S.’s deputy secretary of state.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The secretary of state rejected the paramilitary group's attempt to blame the killings on rogue elements, saying this was false and the attacks were systematic.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• cabinet minister