List of Secretaries of State of the United States

On January 10, 1780, the Confederation Congress created the Department of Foreign Affairs.[1]

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, when he was succeeded by John Jay, 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		John Jay	New York	June 4, 1783	March 4, 1789
—		John Jay Acting	New York	July 27, 1789	September 15, 1789

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.

No.	Secretary		State of residence	Senate confirmation vote	Took office	Left office	President(s)
—		John Jay Acting	New York		September 15, 1789	March 22, 1790	George Washington (Unaffiliated)
1		Thomas Jefferson	Virginia		March 22, 1790	December 31, 1793
2		Edmund Randolph	Virginia		January 2, 1794	August 20, 1795
3		Timothy Pickering	Pennsylvania[2]		August 20, 1795	December 10, 1795[B]
					December 10, 1795	March 4, 1797
					March 4, 1797	May 12, 1800	John Adams (Federalist)
—		Charles Lee[C] Acting	Virginia		May 13, 1800	June 5, 1800
4		John Marshall	Virginia		June 13, 1800	March 4, 1801
—		Levi Lincoln Sr.[C] Acting	Massachusetts		March 5, 1801	May 1, 1801	Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican)
5		James Madison	Virginia		May 2, 1801	March 3, 1809
6		Robert Smith	Maryland		March 6, 1809	April 1, 1811	James Madison (Democratic-Republican)
7		James Monroe	Virginia		April 2, 1811	March 3, 1817
—		John Graham Acting	Kentucky		March 4, 1817	March 9, 1817	James Monroe (Democratic-Republican)
—		Richard Rush[C] Acting	Pennsylvania		March 10, 1817	September 22, 1817
8		John Quincy Adams	Massachusetts		September 22, 1817	March 3, 1825
—		Daniel Brent Acting	Virginia		March 4, 1825	March 7, 1825	John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican)
9		Henry Clay	Kentucky		March 7, 1825	March 3, 1829
—		James Alexander Hamilton Acting	New York		March 4, 1829	March 27, 1829	Andrew Jackson (Democratic)
10		Martin Van Buren	New York		March 28, 1829	May 23, 1831
11		Edward Livingston	Louisiana		May 24, 1831	May 29, 1833
12		Louis McLane	Delaware		May 29, 1833	June 30, 1834
13		John Forsyth	Georgia		July 1, 1834	March 4, 1837
					March 4, 1837	March 3, 1841	Martin Van Buren (Democratic)
—		Jacob L. Martin Acting	District of Columbia		March 4, 1841	March 5, 1841	William Harrison (Whig)
14		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts		March 6, 1841	April 4, 1841
					April 4, 1841	May 8, 1843	John Tyler (Whig)
—		Hugh S. Legaré Acting	South Carolina		May 9, 1843	June 20, 1843
—		William S. Derrick Acting	Pennsylvania		June 21, 1843	June 23, 1843
15		Abel P. Upshur	Virginia		June 24, 1843	July 23, 1843[D]
					July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844
—		John Nelson[C] Acting	Maryland		February 29, 1844	March 31, 1844
16		John C. Calhoun	South Carolina		April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845[E]
17		James Buchanan	Pennsylvania		March 10, 1845	March 7, 1849[E]	James K. Polk[E] (Democratic)
18		John M. Clayton	Delaware		March 8, 1849	July 9, 1850	Zachary Taylor (Whig)
					July 9, 1850	July 22, 1850	Millard Fillmore (Whig)
19		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts		July 23, 1850	October 24, 1852
—		Charles M. Conrad[B] Acting	Louisiana		October 25, 1852	November 5, 1852
20		Edward Everett	Massachusetts		November 6, 1852	March 3, 1853
—		William Hunter[F] Acting	Rhode Island		March 4, 1853	March 7, 1853	Franklin Pierce (Democratic)
21		William L. Marcy	New York		March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857[E]
22		Lewis Cass	Michigan		March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860	James Buchanan (Democratic)
—		William Hunter[F] Acting	Rhode Island		December 15, 1860	December 16, 1860
23		Jeremiah S. Black	Pennsylvania		December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861[E]
24		William H. Seward	New York		March 5, 1861	April 15, 1865	Abraham Lincoln (Republican)
					April 15, 1865	March 4, 1869	Andrew Johnson (Democratic)
25		Elihu B. Washburne	Illinois		March 5, 1869	March 16, 1869	Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
26		Hamilton Fish	New York		March 17, 1869	March 4, 1877
					March 4, 1877	March 12, 1877[E]	Rutherford B. Hayes[E] (Republican)
27		William M. Evarts	New York		March 12, 1877	March 7, 1881
28		James G. Blaine	Maine		March 7, 1881	September 19, 1881	James A. Garfield (Republican)
					September 19, 1881	December 19, 1881	Chester A. Arthur (Republican)
29		Frederick T. Frelinghuysen	New Jersey		December 19, 1881	March 6, 1885[E]
30		Thomas F. Bayard	Delaware		March 7, 1885	March 6, 1889	Grover Cleveland[E] (Democratic)
31		James G. Blaine	Maine		March 7, 1889	June 4, 1892	Benjamin Harrison (Republican)
—		William F. Wharton[G] Acting	Massachusetts		June 4, 1892	June 29, 1892
32		John W. Foster	Indiana		June 29, 1892	February 23, 1893
—		William F. Wharton[G] Acting	Massachusetts		February 24, 1893	March 6, 1893
							Grover Cleveland (Democratic)
33		Walter Q. Gresham	Illinois[3]		March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895
–		Edwin F. Uhl[G] Acting	Michigan		May 28, 1895	June 9, 1895
34		Richard Olney	Massachusetts		June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897[E]
35		John Sherman	Ohio		March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898	William McKinley (Republican)
36		William R. Day	Ohio		April 28, 1898	September 16, 1898
—		Alvey A. Adee[H] Acting	New York		September 17, 1898	September 29, 1898
37		John Hay	District of Columbia		September 30, 1898	September 14, 1901
					September 14, 1901	July 1, 1905	Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)
—		Francis B. Loomis[G] Acting	Ohio		July 1, 1905	July 18, 1905
38		Elihu Root	New York		July 19, 1905	January 27, 1909
39		Robert Bacon	New York		January 27, 1909	March 5, 1909[E]
40		Philander C. Knox	Pennsylvania		March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913	William Howard Taft[E] (Republican)
41		William Jennings Bryan	Nebraska		March 5, 1913	June 9, 1915	Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)
42		Robert Lansing	New York		June 9, 1915	June 23, 1915
					June 24, 1915	February 13, 1920
—		Frank Polk[I] Acting	New York		February 14, 1920	March 12, 1920
43		Bainbridge Colby	New York		March 23, 1920	March 4, 1921
44		Charles Evans Hughes	New York		March 5, 1921	August 2, 1923	Warren G. Harding (Republican)
					August 2, 1923	March 4, 1925	Calvin Coolidge (Republican)
45		Frank B. Kellogg	Minnesota		March 5, 1925	March 4, 1929
					March 4, 1929	March 28, 1929	Herbert Hoover (Republican)
46		Henry L. Stimson	New York		March 28, 1929	March 4, 1933
47		Cordell Hull	Tennessee		March 4, 1933	November 30, 1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)
48		Edward Stettinius Jr.	Virginia		December 1, 1944	April 12, 1945
					April 12, 1945	June 27, 1945	Harry S. Truman (Democratic)
—		Joseph Grew[I] Acting	New Hampshire		June 28, 1945	July 3, 1945
49		James F. Byrnes	South Carolina		July 3, 1945	January 21, 1947
50		George Marshall	Pennsylvania		January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949
51		Dean Acheson	Maryland[4]		January 21, 1949	January 20, 1953
—		H. Freeman Matthews[I] Acting	Maryland		January 20, 1953	January 21, 1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
52		John Foster Dulles	New York		January 21, 1953	April 22, 1959
53		Christian Herter	Massachusetts		April 22, 1959	January 20, 1961
—		Livingston T. Merchant Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 1961	January 21, 1961	John F. Kennedy (Democratic)
54		Dean Rusk	New York[5]		January 21, 1961	November 22, 1963
					November 22, 1963	January 20, 1969	Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)
—		Charles E. Bohlen Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 1969	January 22, 1969	Richard Nixon (Republican)
55		William P. Rogers	Maryland		January 22, 1969	September 3, 1973
—		Kenneth Rush Acting	Florida		September 3, 1973	September 22, 1973
56		Henry Kissinger	District of Columbia	78–7	September 22, 1973	August 9, 1974
					August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977[6]	Gerald Ford (Republican)
—		Philip Habib Acting	California		January 20, 1977	January 23, 1977	Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
57		Cyrus Vance	New York[7]	Voice Vote	January 23, 1977	April 28, 1980[8]
—		Warren Christopher[K][9] Acting	California		April 28, 1980	May 2, 1980
—		David D. Newsom[L][9] Acting			May 2, 1980	May 3, 1980
—					May 3, 1980	May 3, 1980
—		David D. Newsom[L][9] Acting			May 3, 1980	May 4, 1980
—		Warren Christopher[K][9] Acting	California		May 4, 1980	May 8, 1980
58		Edmund Muskie	Maine	94–2	May 8, 1980	January 20, 1981[10]
59		Alexander Haig	Connecticut	93–6	January 22, 1981	July 5, 1982[11]	Ronald Reagan (Republican)
—		Walter J. Stoessel Jr.[K] Acting	California		July 5, 1982	July 16, 1982
60		George Shultz	California	97–0	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989[12]
—		Michael Armacost[L] Acting	Maryland		January 20, 1989	January 25, 1989	George H. W. Bush (Republican)
61		James Baker	Texas	99–0	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992[13]
62		Lawrence Eagleburger	Florida[14]		August 23, 1992	December 8, 1992[K][15]
				Recess Appointment	December 8, 1992	January 19, 1993[16]
—		Arnold Kanter[L][17] Acting	Virginia		January 20, 1993		Bill Clinton (Democratic)
—		Frank G. Wisner[N][17] Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 1993
63		Warren Christopher	California	Voice Vote	January 20, 1993	January 17, 1997[18]
64		Madeleine Albright	District of Columbia	99–0	January 23, 1997	January 20, 2001[19]
65		Colin Powell	Virginia	Voice Vote	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005[20]	George W. Bush (Republican)
66		Condoleezza Rice	California	85–13	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009[21]
—		William Joseph Burns[L] Acting	District of Columbia		January 20, 2009	January 21, 2009[22]	Barack Obama (Democratic)
67		Hillary Clinton	New York	94–2	January 21, 2009	February 1, 2013[23]
68		John Kerry	Massachusetts	94–3	February 1, 2013	January 20, 2017[24]
—		Tom Shannon[L] Acting	Minnesota		January 20, 2017	February 1, 2017[25][26][27]	Donald Trump (Republican)
69		Rex Tillerson	Texas	55–43	February 1, 2017	March 31, 2018
—		John J. Sullivan[K] Acting	Massachusetts		April 1, 2018	April 26, 2018
70		Mike Pompeo	Kansas	57–42	April 26, 2018	January 20, 2021
—		Daniel Bennett Smith Acting	Virginia		January 20, 2021	January 26, 2021	Joe Biden (Democratic)
71		Antony Blinken	New York	78–22	January 26, 2021	—

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.

As of February 2021, there are nine living former Secretaries of State (with all Secretaries that have served since 1997 still living), the oldest being Henry Kissinger (served 1973–1977, born 1923). The most recent Secretary of State to die was George Shultz (served 1982–1989, born 1920) on February 6, 2021.

• Living former Secretaries of State
• 
  Henry Kissinger
  served 1973–1977, born May 27, 1923 (age 97)
• 
  James Baker
  served 1989–1992, born April 28, 1930 (age 90)
• 
  Madeleine Albright
  served 1997–2001, born May 15, 1937 (age 83)
• 
  Colin Powell
  served 2001–2005, born April 5, 1937 (age 83)
• 
  Condoleezza Rice
  served 2005–2009, born November 14, 1954 (age 66)
• 
  Hillary Clinton
  served 2009–2013, born October 26, 1947 (age 73)
• 
  John Kerry
  served 2013–2017, born December 11, 1943 (age 77)
• 
  Rex Tillerson
  served 2017–2018, born March 23, 1952 (age 68)
• 
  Mike Pompeo
  served 2018–2021, born December 30, 1963 (age 57)

• ^A As United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs until September 15, 1789 and United States Secretary of State until March 22, 1790, pending the return of Thomas Jefferson from France.
• ^B As Secretary of War.
• ^C As Attorney General.
• ^D As Secretary of the Navy.
• ^E In addition to the President listed, this Secretary of State served for a brief period of time (eight days or less) under that President's successor until a replacement could be named and confirmed.
• ^F As Chief Clerk of the State Department.
• ^G As Assistant Secretary of State.
• ^H As Second Assistant Secretary of State.
• ^I As Under Secretary of State.
• ^J As Deputy Under Secretary of State.
• ^K As Deputy Secretary of State.
• ^L As Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
• ^M Became President of the United States.
• ^N As Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.
• ^O As Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs.

• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secretaries of State of the United States.

• Official website