List of secretaries of state of the United States

United States Secretary of State
100px Official seal
File:Secretary Blinken's Official Department Photo.jpg Incumbent Antony Blinken since January 26, 2021
United States Department of State
Appointer	President of United States
Inaugural holder	John Jay (acting) Thomas Jefferson
Formation	July 27, 1789
Succession	Fourth
Website	www.state.gov

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 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 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.

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office
1		Robert R. Livingston	New York	October 20, 1781	June 4, 1783
2	75px	John Jay	New York	December 21, 1784	March 4, 1789
—	75px	John Jay Acting	New York	July 27, 1789	September 15, 1789

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.

Denotes ad interim Secretary of State

Template:Hovertitle	Secretary		Party		[[Advice and consent|Template:Hovertitle]]	Term of office			Template:Hovertitle	President(s)
	Portrait	Name				Took office	Left office	Term
–	120px	John Jay (1745–1829)		Federalist	–	September 15, 1789	March 22, 1790		New York		George Washington
1		Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)		Democratic- Republican	–	March 22, 1790	December 31, 1793		Virginia
2	120px	Edmund Randolph (1753–1813)		Federalist	–	December 31, 1793	August 20, 1795		Virginia
3		Timothy Pickering (1745–1829)		Federalist	–	August 20, 1795	December 10, 1795		Pennsylvania
						December 10, 1795	May 12, 1800
											John Adams
–	120px	Charles Lee (1758–1815)		Federalist	–	May 13, 1800	June 5, 1800		Virginia
4		John Marshall (1755–1835)		Federalist	–	June 13, 1800	February 4, 1801		Virginia
						February 4, 1801	March 4, 1801
–		Levi Lincoln Sr. (1749–1820)		Democratic- Republican	–	March 5, 1801	May 1, 1801		Massachusetts		Thomas Jefferson
5		James Madison (1751–1836)		Democratic- Republican	–	May 2, 1801	March 3, 1809		Virginia
6		Robert Smith (1757–1842)		Democratic- Republican	–	March 6, 1809	April 1, 1811		Maryland		James Madison
7	120px	James Monroe (1758–1831)		Democratic- Republican	30–0	April 2, 1811	September 30, 1814		Virginia
						October 1, 1814	February 28, 1815
						February 28, 1815	March 3, 1817
–	80x80px	John Graham (1774–1820)		Democratic- Republican	–	March 4, 1817	March 9, 1817		Kentucky		James Monroe
–	120px	Richard Rush (1780–1859)		Federalist	–	March 10, 1817	September 22, 1817		Pennsylvania
8	120px	John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)		Democratic- Republican	29–1	September 22, 1817	March 3, 1825		Massachusetts
–	80x80px	Daniel Brent (1770–1841)		Democratic- Republican	–	March 4, 1825	March 7, 1825		Virginia		John Quincy Adams
9		Henry Clay (1777–1852)		Democratic- Republican	27–14	March 7, 1825	March 3, 1829		Kentucky
				National Republican
–	80x80px	James Alexander Hamilton (1788–1878)		Democratic	–	March 4, 1829	March 27, 1829		New York		Andrew Jackson
10	120px	Martin Van Buren (1782–1862)		Democratic	25–7	March 28, 1829	May 23, 1831		New York
11	120px	Edward Livingston (1764–1836)		Democratic	–	May 24, 1831	May 29, 1833		Louisiana
12		Louis McLane (1786–1857)		Democratic		May 29, 1833	June 30, 1834		Delaware
13	120px	John Forsyth (1780–1841)		Democratic	–	July 1, 1834	March 3, 1841		Georgia
											Martin Van Buren
–	80x80px	Jacob L. Martin (?–1848)		–	–	March 4, 1841	March 5, 1841		District of Columbia		William Henry Harrison
14	120px	Daniel Webster (1782–1852)		Whig	–	March 6, 1841	May 8, 1843		Massachusetts
											John Tyler
–		Hugh S. Legaré (1797–1843)		Democratic	–	May 9, 1843	June 20, 1843		South Carolina
–	80x80px	William S. Derrick (1802–1852)		–	–	June 21, 1843	June 23, 1843		Pennsylvania
15	120px	Abel P. Upshur (1791–1844)		Whig	–	June 24, 1843	July 23, 1843		Virginia
						July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844
–		John Nelson (1791–1860)		Whig	–	February 29, 1844	March 31, 1844		Maryland
16	120px	John C. Calhoun (1782–1850)		Democratic	–	April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845		South Carolina
17	120px	James Buchanan (1791–1868)		Democratic	–	March 10, 1845	March 7, 1849		Pennsylvania		James K. Polk
18	120px	John M. Clayton (1796–1856)		Whig	–	March 8, 1849	July 22, 1850		Delaware		Zachary Taylor
											Millard Fillmore
19		Daniel Webster (1782–1852)		Whig	–	July 23, 1850	October 24, 1852		Massachusetts
–		Charles Magill Conrad (1804–1878)		Whig	–	October 25, 1852	November 5, 1852		Louisiana
20	120px	Edward Everett (1794–1865)		Whig	–	November 6, 1852	March 3, 1853		Massachusetts
–		William Hunter (1805–1886)		–	–	March 4, 1853	March 7, 1853		Rhode Island		Franklin Pierce
21		William L. Marcy (1786–1857)		Democratic	–	March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857		New York
22		Lewis Cass (1782–1866)		Democratic	–	March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860		Michigan		James Buchanan
–		William Hunter (1805–1886)		–	–	December 15, 1860	December 16, 1860		Rhode Island
23		Jeremiah S. Black (1810–1883)		Democratic	–	December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861		New York
24	120px	William H. Seward (1801–1872)		Republican	–	March 5, 1861	March 4, 1869		New York		Abraham Lincoln
											Andrew Johnson
25	120px	Elihu B. Washburne (1816–1887)		Republican	–	March 5, 1869	March 16, 1869		Illinois		Ulysses S. Grant
26		Hamilton Fish (1808–1893)		Republican	–	March 17, 1869	March 12, 1877		New York
27		William M. Evarts (1818–1901)		Republican	44–2	March 12, 1877	March 7, 1881		New York		Rutherford B. Hayes
28		James G. Blaine (1830–1893)		Republican	–	March 7, 1881	December 19, 1881		Maine		James A. Garfield
											Chester A. Arthur
29	120px	Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (1817–1885)		Republican	–	December 19, 1881	March 6, 1885		New Jersey
30		Thomas F. Bayard (1828–1898)		Democratic	–	March 7, 1885	March 6, 1889		Delaware		Grover Cleveland
31	120px	James G. Blaine (1830–1893)		Republican	–	March 7, 1889	June 4, 1892		Maine		Benjamin Harrison
–		William F. Wharton (1847–1919)		Republican	–	June 4, 1892	June 29, 1892		Massachusetts
32		John W. Foster (1836–1917)		Republican	–	June 29, 1892	February 23, 1893		Indiana
–		William F. Wharton (1847–1919)		Republican	–	February 24, 1893	March 6, 1893		Massachusetts
											Grover Cleveland
33		Walter Q. Gresham (1832–1895)		Democratic	–	March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895		Illinois
–		Edwin F. Uhl (1841–1901)		Democratic	–	May 28, 1895	June 9, 1895		Michigan
34		Richard Olney (1835–1917)		Democratic	–	June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897		Massachusetts
35	120px	John Sherman (1823–1900)		Republican	–	March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898		Ohio		William McKinley
36	120px	William R. Day (1849–1923)		Republican	–	April 28, 1898	September 16, 1898		Ohio
–		Alvey A. Adee (1842–1924)		Independent	–	September 17, 1898	September 29, 1898		New York
37		John Hay (1838–1905)		Republican	–	September 30, 1898	July 1, 1905		District of Columbia
											Theodore Roosevelt
–	120px	Francis B. Loomis (1861–1948)		Republican	–	July 1, 1905	July 18, 1905		Ohio
38	120px	Elihu Root (1845–1937)		Republican	–	July 19, 1905	January 27, 1909		New York
39	120px	Robert Bacon (1860–1919)		Republican	–	January 27, 1909	March 5, 1909		New York
40	120px	Philander C. Knox (1853–1921)		Republican	–	March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913		Pennsylvania		William Howard Taft
41	120px	William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925)		Democratic	–	March 5, 1913	June 9, 1915		Nebraska		Woodrow Wilson
42	120px	Robert Lansing (1864–1928)		Democratic	–	June 9, 1915	June 24, 1915		New York
						June 24, 1915	February 13, 1920
–		Frank Polk (1871–1943)		Democratic	–	February 14, 1920	March 14, 1920		New York
43		Bainbridge Colby (1869–1950)		Democratic	–	March 23, 1920	March 4, 1921		New York
44	120px	Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948)		Republican	–	March 5, 1921	March 4, 1925		New York		Warren G. Harding
											Calvin Coolidge
45		Frank B. Kellogg (1856–1937)		Republican	–	March 5, 1925	March 28, 1929		Minnesota
											Herbert Hoover
46	120px	Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950)		Republican	–	March 28, 1929	March 4, 1933		New York
47	120px	Cordell Hull (1871–1955)		Democratic	–	March 4, 1933	November 30, 1944		Tennessee		Franklin D. Roosevelt
48		Edward Stettinius Jr. (1900–1949)		Democratic	68–1	December 1, 1944	June 27, 1945		Virginia
											Harry S. Truman
–	120px	Joseph Grew (1880–1965)		Independent	–	June 28, 1945	July 3, 1945		New Hampshire
49		James F. Byrnes (1882–1972)		Democratic	–	July 3, 1945	January 21, 1947		South Carolina
50	120px	George C. Marshall (1880–1959)		Independent	–	January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949		Pennsylvania
51	120px	Dean Acheson (1893–1971)		Democratic	83–6	January 21, 1949	January 20, 1953		Maryland
–	120px	H. Freeman Matthews (1899–1986)		Independent	–	January 20, 1953	January 21, 1953		Maryland		Dwight D. Eisenhower
52		John Foster Dulles (1888–1959)		Republican	–	January 21, 1953	April 22, 1959		New York
53		Christian Herter (1895–1966)		Republican	93–0	April 22, 1959	January 20, 1961		Massachusetts
–		Livingston T. Merchant (1903–1976)		Independent	–	January 20, 1961	January 21, 1961		District of Columbia		John F. Kennedy
54		Dean Rusk (1909–1994)		Democratic	–	January 21, 1961	January 20, 1969		New York
											Lyndon B. Johnson
–		Charles E. Bohlen (1904–1974)		Independent	–	January 20, 1969	January 22, 1969		District of Columbia		Richard Nixon
55		William P. Rogers (1913–2001)		Republican	–	January 22, 1969	September 3, 1973		Maryland
–		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994)		Republican	–	September 3, 1973	September 22, 1973		Florida
56		Henry Kissinger (b. 1923)		Republican	78–7	September 22, 1973	January 20, 1977		District of Columbia
											Gerald Ford
–	120px	Philip Habib (1920–1992)		Independent	–	January 20, 1977	January 23, 1977		California		Jimmy Carter
57		Cyrus Vance (1917–2002)		Democratic	Voice	January 23, 1977	April 28, 1980		New York
–		Warren Christopher (1925–2011)		Democratic	–	April 28, 1980	May 2, 1980		California
–	120px	David D. Newsom (1918–2008)		Independent	–	May 2, 1980	May 3, 1980		California
–	80x80px	Richard N. Cooper (1934–2020)		Independent	–	May 3, 1980			Connecticut
–	120px	David D. Newsom (1918–2008)		Independent	–	May 3, 1980	May 4, 1980		California
–		Warren Christopher (1925–2011)		Democratic	–	May 4, 1980	May 8, 1980		California
58		Edmund Muskie (1914–1996)		Democratic	94–2	May 8, 1980	January 18, 1981		Maine
–	120px	David D. Newsom (1918–2008)		Independent	–	January 18, 1981	January 22, 1981		California
59	120px	Alexander Haig (1924–2010)		Republican	93–6	January 22, 1981	July 5, 1982		Connecticut		Ronald Reagan
–		Walter J. Stoessel Jr. (1920–1986)		Independent	–	July 5, 1982	July 16, 1982		California
60		George Shultz (1920–2021)		Republican	97–0	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989		California
–	120px	Michael Armacost (b. 1937)		Independent	–	January 20, 1989	January 25, 1989		Maryland		George H. W. Bush
61	120px	James Baker (b. 1930)		Republican	99–0	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992		Texas
62	120px	Lawrence Eagleburger (1930–2011)		Republican	–	August 23, 1992	December 8, 1992		Florida
					Recess	December 8, 1992	January 20, 1993
–	120px	Arnold Kanter (1945 - 2010)		Independent	–	January 20, 1993			District of Columbia		Bill Clinton
–	120px	Frank G. Wisner (b. 1938)		Independent	–	January 20, 1993			District of Columbia
63		Warren Christopher (1925–2011)		Democratic	Voice	January 20, 1993	January 17, 1997		California
64	120px	Madeleine Albright (1937–2022)		Democratic	99–0	January 23, 1997	January 20, 2001		District of Columbia
65		Colin Powell (1937–2021)		Republican	Voice	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005		Virginia		George W. Bush
66	120px	Condoleezza Rice (b. 1954)		Republican	85–13	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009		California
–	120px	William J. Burns (b. 1956)		Independent	–	January 20, 2009	January 21, 2009		District of Columbia		Barack Obama
67		Hillary Clinton (b. 1947)		Democratic	94–2	January 21, 2009	February 1, 2013		New York
68		John Kerry (b. 1943)		Democratic	94–3	February 1, 2013	January 20, 2017		Massachusetts
–	120px	Thomas A. Shannon Jr. (b. 1958 )		Republican	–	January 20, 2017	February 1, 2017		Minnesota		Donald Trump
69	120px	Rex Tillerson (b. 1952)		Republican	55–43	February 1, 2017	March 31, 2018		Texas
–	120px	John J. Sullivan (b. 1959)		Republican	–	April 1, 2018	April 26, 2018		Massachusetts
70	120px	Mike Pompeo (b. 1963)		Republican	57–42	April 26, 2018	January 20, 2021		Kansas
–	120px	Daniel Bennett Smith (b. 1956)		Independent	–	January 20, 2021	January 26, 2021		Virginia		Joe Biden
71	120px	Antony Blinken (b. 1962)		Democratic	78–22	January 26, 2021	Incumbent		New York

List of secretaries of state by time in office

11 years, 271 days Cordell Hull from 1933 to 1944

7 years, 364 days Dean Rusk from 1961 to 1969

7 years, 364 days William H. Seward from 1861 to 1869

43 days Lawrence Eagleburger from 1992 to 1993

37 days Robert Bacon in 1909

11 days Elihu B. Washburne in 1869

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 office	Secretary	Length of service (days)	Rank
47	Cordell Hull		1
54	Dean Rusk		2
24	William H. Seward
26	Hamilton Fish		4
5	James Madison		5
8	John Quincy Adams		6
37	John Hay		7
13	John Forsyth		8
60	George P. Shultz		9
52	John Foster Dulles		10
7	James Monroe	2011	11
42	Robert Lansing		12
55	William P. Rogers		13
14/19	Daniel Webster	1617	14
3	Timothy Pickering		15
45	Frank B. Kellogg		16
28/31	James G. Blaine	1472	17
67	Hillary Clinton
65	Colin Powell		19
51	Dean Acheson		20
21	William L. Marcy
30	Thomas F. Bayard Sr.
40	Philander C. Knox
44	Charles Evans Hughes
63	Warren Christopher		25
64	Madeleine Albright
17	James Buchanan
9	Henry Clay		28
27	William M. Evarts		29
66	Condoleezza Rice		30
68	John Kerry		31
46	Henry L. Stimson		32
1	Thomas Jefferson		33
22	Lewis Cass		34
61	James Baker		35
38	Elihu Root		36
56	Henry Kissinger		37
57	Cyrus Vance		38
29	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen		39
70	Mike Pompeo		40
41	William Jennings Bryan		41
33	Walter Q. Gresham		42
10	Martin Van Buren		43
6	Robert Smith		44
11	Edward Livingston		45
50	George C. Marshall		46
53	Christian Herter		47
34	Richard Olney		48
2	Edmund Randolph		49
49	James F. Byrnes		50
71	Antony Blinken		51
59	Alexander Haig		52
18	John M. Clayton		53
69	Rex Tillerson		54
35	John Sherman		55
12	Louis McLane		56
43	Bainbridge Colby	346	57
16	John C. Calhoun	343	58
4	John Marshall		59
58	Edmund Muskie	257	60
32	John W. Foster	239	61
15	Abel P. Upshur	219	62
48	Edward Stettinius Jr.	208	63
36	William R. Day	141	64
20	Edward Everett	117	65
23	Jeremiah S. Black	78	66
62	Lawrence Eagleburger	43	67
39	Robert Bacon	37	68
25	Elihu B. Washburne	11	69

Living former secretaries of state

As of December 2024, there are seven living former secretaries of state, the oldest being Henry Kissinger (1973–1977). The most recent death of a former secretary of state was that of Madeleine Albright (1997–2001) on March 23, 2022. The living former secretaries of state, in order of service, are:

• Living former secretaries of state
• Secretary Pompeo Meets Former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger (48803931468) (cropped).jpg

  Henry Kissinger
  (1973–1977)
  Age 101

• James Baker 2019.jpg

  James Baker
  (1989–1992)
  Age 94

• Condoleezza Rice July 2018.jpg

  Condoleezza Rice
  (2005–2009)
  Age 70

• Funeral Service for Former Secretary of State Albright (52034685091) (1).jpg

  Hillary Clinton
  (2009–2013)
  Age 77

• John Kerry portrait of Climate Envoy (cropped) 1.jpg

  John Kerry
  (2013–2017)
  Age 81

• Secretary Tillerson Delivers Remarks to State Department Employees (27087082258) (cropped).jpg

  Rex Tillerson
  (2017–2018)
  Age 72

• Mike Pompeo by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg

  Mike Pompeo
  (2018–2021)
  Age 60

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