The United States Secretary of State represents the country in foreign affairs and leads the Bureau of Foreign Affairs. The position was created in 1789 and the first appointee was Thomas Jefferson. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, but appointments are usually not contested. The secretary of state is a potential successor to the presidency and provides various services to the government. Many former secretaries of state have successfully run for president.
The United States Secretary of State is an appointed member of the President’s Cabinet. His job is to represent the United States in foreign affairs and lead the Bureau of Foreign Affairs. This is a job nearly as old as the presidency, and the office was created during the Second Continental Congress in 1789. President George Washington appointed the first United States secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson.
While appointing the secretary of state is the privilege of the president, the nomination must be confirmed by the United States Senate. Typically, the appointments are not hotly contested, as most believe the president has the right to appoint his own cabinet. In recent years, however, appointments for under secretary of state have been hotly contested, as has the 2005 appointment of John Bolton. Appointments are generally confirmed without problems when the controlling political party of the Senate coincides with that of the president.
The secretary of state is always a potential successor to the presidency. Only the statements of the vice president, the speaker of the house and the president of the senate come first. The position is also the highest appointed cabinet position.
As a secretary of state, the appointee provides various services to or for the government. He or she may correspond with other governments or branches of government as directed by the president, participate in consultations or negotiations with heads of other governments, and advise the president on foreign affairs.
Especially during the first 100 years of US government, many of those who had held the office of secretary of state subsequently ran successfully for president. These include Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan. Since 1850, many who have held office have bid for the presidency, but have not won. At the time of Barack Obama’s presidency, only three women held this role: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright.
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