List of secretaries of state of the United States

This is a list of secretaries of state of the United States.

United States Secretary of State
Official seal
Incumbent Marco Rubio since January 21, 2025
United States Department of State
Appointer	President of the United States
Inaugural holder	John Jay (acting) Thomas Jefferson
Formation	July 27, 1789
Succession	Fourth
Website	www.state.gov

Secretaries of foreign affairs (1781–1789)

On January 10, 1780, the Congress of the Confederation 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, 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.

Secretaries of foreign affairs (1781–1789)

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	December 21, 1784	March 4, 1789
—		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 an interim secretary of state

18th and 19th centuries

List of secretaries of state from September 15, 1789 to September 29, 1898

N°	Secretary		Party		Vote[a]	Term of office			State	President(s)
	Portrait	Name				Took office	Left office	Term Length
–		John Jay (1745–1829)		Federalist	–	September 15, 1789	March 22, 1790	188 days	New York		George Washington (1789–1797)
1		Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) [3]		Democratic- Republican	–	March 22, 1790	December 31, 1793	3 years, 284 days	Virginia
2		Edmund Randolph (1753–1813) [4]		Federalist	–	January 2, 1794	August 20, 1795	1 year, 232 days	Virginia
3		Timothy Pickering (1745–1829) [5]		Federalist	–	August 20, 1795	December 10, 1795[b]	4 years, 265 days	Pennsylvania
						December 10, 1795	May 12, 1800
											John Adams (1797–1801)
–		Charles Lee (1758–1815) [c][6]		Federalist	–	May 13, 1800	June 5, 1800	23 days	Virginia
4		John Marshall (1755–1835) [7]		Federalist	–	June 13, 1800	February 4, 1801	264 days	Virginia
						February 4, 1801	March 4, 1801[d]
–		Levi Lincoln Sr. (1749–1820) [c][8]		Democratic- Republican	–	March 5, 1801	May 1, 1801	57 days	Massachusetts		Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)
5		James Madison (1751–1836) [9]		Democratic- Republican	–	May 2, 1801	March 3, 1809	7 years, 305 days	Virginia
6		Robert Smith (1757–1842) [10]		Democratic- Republican	–	March 6, 1809	April 1, 1811	2 years, 26 days	Maryland		James Madison (1809–1817)
7		James Monroe (1758–1831) [11]		Democratic- Republican	30–0	April 2, 1811	September 30, 1814	5 years, 335 days	Virginia
						October 1, 1814	February 28, 1815[b]
						February 28, 1815	March 3, 1817
–		John Graham (1774–1820) [e][12]		Democratic- Republican	–	March 4, 1817	March 9, 1817	5 days	Kentucky		James Monroe (1817–1825)
–		Richard Rush (1780–1859) [c][13]		Federalist	–	March 10, 1817	September 22, 1817	196 days	Pennsylvania
8		John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) [14]		Democratic- Republican	29–1	September 22, 1817	March 3, 1825	7 years, 162 days	Massachusetts
–		Daniel Brent (1770–1841) [e][15]		Democratic- Republican	–	March 4, 1825	March 7, 1825	3 days	Virginia		John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)
9		Henry Clay (1777–1852) [16]		Democratic- Republican	27–14	March 7, 1825	March 3, 1829	3 years, 361 days	Kentucky
				National Republican
–		James Alexander Hamilton (1788–1878) [17]		Democratic	–	March 4, 1829	March 27, 1829	23 days	New York		Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
10		Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) [18]		Democratic	25–7	March 28, 1829	May 23, 1831	2 years, 56 days	New York
11		Edward Livingston (1764–1836) [19]		Democratic	–	May 24, 1831	May 29, 1833	2 years, 5 days	Louisiana
12		Louis McLane (1786–1857) [20]		Democratic	[f]	May 29, 1833	June 30, 1834	1 year, 32 days	Delaware
13		John Forsyth (1780–1841) [21]		Democratic	–	July 1, 1834	March 3, 1841	6 years, 245 days	Georgia
											Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)
–		Jacob L. Martin (?–1848) [e][22]		–	–	March 4, 1841	March 5, 1841	1 day	District of Columbia		William Henry Harrison (1841)
14		Daniel Webster (1782–1852) [23]		Whig	–	March 6, 1841	May 8, 1843	2 years, 63 days	Massachusetts
											John Tyler (1841–1845)
–		Hugh S. Legaré (1797–1843) [c][24]		Democratic	–	May 9, 1843	June 20, 1843	42 days	South Carolina
–		William S. Derrick (1802–1852) [e][25]		–	–	June 21, 1843	June 23, 1843	2 days	Pennsylvania
15		Abel P. Upshur (1791–1844) [26]		Whig	–	June 24, 1843	July 23, 1843[g]	220 days	Virginia
						July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844
–		John Nelson (1791–1860) [c][27]		Whig	–	February 29, 1844	March 31, 1844	31 days	Maryland
16		John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) [28]		Democratic	–	April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845[h]	343 days	South Carolina
17		James Buchanan (1791–1868) [29]		Democratic	–	March 10, 1845	March 7, 1849[h]	3 years, 362 days	Pennsylvania		James K. Polk (1845–1849)
18		John M. Clayton (1796–1856) [30]		Whig	–	March 8, 1849	July 22, 1850	1 year, 136 days	Delaware		Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)
											Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)
19		Daniel Webster (1782–1852) [23]		Whig	–	July 23, 1850	October 24, 1852	2 years, 93 days	Massachusetts
–		Charles Magill Conrad (1804–1878) [b][31]		Whig	–	October 25, 1852	November 5, 1852	11 days	Louisiana
20		Edward Everett (1794–1865) [32]		Whig	–	November 6, 1852	March 3, 1853	117 days	Massachusetts
–		William Hunter (1805–1886) [e][33]		–	–	March 4, 1853	March 7, 1853	3 days	Rhode Island		Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)
21		William L. Marcy (1786–1857) [34]		Democratic	–	March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857[h]	3 years, 364 days	New York
22		Lewis Cass (1782–1866) [35]		Democratic	–	March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860	3 years, 283 days	Michigan		James Buchanan (1857–1861)
–		William Hunter (1805–1886) [e][33]		–	–	December 15, 1860	December 16, 1860	1 day	Rhode Island
23		Jeremiah S. Black (1810–1883) [36]		Democratic	–	December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861[h]	78 days	New York
24		William H. Seward (1801–1872) [37]		Republican	–	March 5, 1861	March 4, 1869	7 years, 364 days	New York		Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
											Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
25		Elihu B. Washburne (1816–1887) [38]		Republican	–	March 5, 1869	March 16, 1869	11 days	Illinois		Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)
26		Hamilton Fish (1808–1893) [39]		Republican	–	March 17, 1869	March 12, 1877[h]	7 years, 360 days	New York
27		William M. Evarts (1818–1901) [40]		Republican	44–2	March 12, 1877	March 7, 1881[h]	3 years, 360 days	New York		Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
28		James G. Blaine (1830–1893) [41]		Republican	–	March 7, 1881	December 19, 1881	287 days	Maine		James A. Garfield (1881)
											Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
29		Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (1817–1885) [42]		Republican	–	December 19, 1881	March 6, 1885[h]	3 years, 77 days	New Jersey
30		Thomas F. Bayard (1828–1898) [43]		Democratic	–	March 7, 1885	March 6, 1889[h]	3 years, 364 days	Delaware		Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
31		James G. Blaine (1830–1893) [41]		Republican	–	March 7, 1889	June 4, 1892	3 years, 89 days	Maine		Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
–		William F. Wharton (1847–1919) [i][44]		Republican	–	June 4, 1892	June 29, 1892	25 days	Massachusetts
32		John W. Foster (1836–1917) [45]		Republican	–	June 29, 1892	February 23, 1893	239 days	Indiana
–		William F. Wharton (1847–1919) [i][44]		Republican	–	February 24, 1893	March 6, 1893	10 days	Massachusetts
											Grover Cleveland (1893–1897)
33		Walter Q. Gresham (1832–1895) [46]		Democratic	–	March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895	2 years, 82 days	Illinois
–		Edwin F. Uhl (1841–1901) [i][47]		Democratic	–	May 28, 1895	June 9, 1895	12 days	Michigan
34		Richard Olney (1835–1917) [48]		Democratic	–	June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897[h]	1 year, 268 days	Massachusetts
35		John Sherman (1823–1900) [49]		Republican	–	March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898	1 year, 52 days	Ohio		William McKinley (1897–1901)
36		William R. Day (1849–1923) [50]		Republican	–	April 28, 1898	September 16, 1898	141 days	Ohio
–		Alvey A. Adee (1842–1924) [j][51]		Independent	–	September 17, 1898	September 29, 1898	12 days	New York

20th and 21st centuries

List of secretaries of state from September 30, 1898 to the present.

N°	Secretary		Party		Vote[k]	Term of office			State	President(s)
	Portrait	Name				Took office	Left office	Term
37		John Hay (1838–1905) [52]		Republican	–	September 30, 1898	July 1, 1905	6 years, 274 days	District of Columbia
											Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
–		Francis B. Loomis (1861–1948) [i][53]		Republican	–	July 1, 1905	July 18, 1905	17 days	Ohio
38		Elihu Root (1845–1937) [54]		Republican	–	July 19, 1905	January 27, 1909	3 years, 192 days	New York
39		Robert Bacon (1860–1919) [55]		Republican	–	January 27, 1909	March 5, 1909[h]	37 days	New York
40		Philander C. Knox (1853–1921) [56]		Republican	–	March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913[h]	3 years, 364 days	Pennsylvania		William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
41		William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) [57]		Democratic	–	March 5, 1913	June 9, 1915	2 years, 96 days	Nebraska		Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
42		Robert Lansing (1864–1928) [58]		Democratic	–	June 9, 1915	June 24, 1915[l]	4 years, 249 days	New York
						June 24, 1915	February 13, 1920
–		Frank Polk (1871–1943) [m][59]		Democratic	–	February 14, 1920	March 14, 1920	29 days	New York
43		Bainbridge Colby (1869–1950) [60]		Democratic	–	March 23, 1920	March 4, 1921	346 days	New York
44		Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948) [61]		Republican	–	March 5, 1921	March 4, 1925	3 years, 364 days	New York		Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
											Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
45		Frank B. Kellogg (1856–1937) [62]		Republican	–	March 5, 1925	March 28, 1929	4 years, 23 days	Minnesota
											Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
46		Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950) [63]		Republican	–	March 28, 1929	March 4, 1933	3 years, 341 days	New York
47		Cordell Hull (1871–1955) [64]		Democratic	–	March 4, 1933	November 30, 1944	11 years, 271 days	Tennessee		Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
48		Edward Stettinius Jr. (1900–1949) [65]		Democratic	68–1	December 1, 1944	June 27, 1945	208 days	Virginia
											Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
–		Joseph Grew (1880–1965) [m][66]		Independent	–	June 28, 1945	July 3, 1945	5 days	New Hampshire
49		James F. Byrnes (1882–1972) [67]		Democratic	–	July 3, 1945	January 21, 1947	1 year, 202 days	South Carolina
50		George C. Marshall (1880–1959) [68]		Independent	–	January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949	1 year, 365 days	Pennsylvania
51		Dean Acheson (1893–1971) [69]		Democratic	83–6	January 21, 1949	January 20, 1953	3 years, 365 days	Maryland
–		H. Freeman Matthews (1899–1986) [m][70]		Independent	–	January 20, 1953	January 21, 1953	1 day	Maryland		Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
52		John Foster Dulles (1888–1959) [71]		Republican	–	January 21, 1953	April 22, 1959	6 years, 91 days	New York
53		Christian Herter (1895–1966) [72]		Republican	93–0	April 22, 1959	January 20, 1961	1 year, 273 days	Massachusetts
–		Livingston T. Merchant (1903–1976) [n][73]		Independent	–	January 20, 1961	January 21, 1961	1 day	District of Columbia		John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
54		Dean Rusk (1909–1994) [74]		Democratic	–	January 21, 1961	January 20, 1969	7 years, 365 days	New York
											Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
–		Charles E. Bohlen (1904–1974) [o][75]		Independent	–	January 20, 1969	January 22, 1969	2 days	District of Columbia		Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
55		William P. Rogers (1913–2001) [76]		Republican	–	January 22, 1969	September 3, 1973	4 years, 224 days	Maryland
–		Kenneth Rush (1910–1994) [p][77]		Republican	–	September 3, 1973	September 22, 1973	19 days	Florida
56		Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) [78]		Republican	78–7	September 22, 1973	January 20, 1977	3 years, 120 days	District of Columbia
											Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
–		Philip Habib (1920–1992) [n][79]		Independent	–	January 20, 1977	January 23, 1977	3 days	California		Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
57		Cyrus Vance (1917–2002) [80]		Democratic	Voice	January 23, 1977	April 28, 1980	3 years, 96 days	New York
–		Warren Christopher (1925–2011) [p][81]		Democratic	–	April 28, 1980	May 2, 1980	4 days	California
–		David D. Newsom (1918–2008) [n][82]		Independent	–	May 2, 1980	May 3, 1980	1 day	California
–		Richard N. Cooper (1934–2020) [q][83]		Independent	–	May 3, 1980	May 3, 1980	0 days	Connecticut
–		David D. Newsom (1918–2008) [n][82]		Independent	–	May 3, 1980	May 4, 1980	1 day	California
–		Warren Christopher (1925–2011) [p][81]		Democratic	–	May 4, 1980	May 8, 1980	4 days	California
58		Edmund Muskie (1914–1996) [84]		Democratic	94–2	May 8, 1980	January 18, 1981	255 days	Maine
–		David D. Newsom (1918–2008) [n][82]		Independent	–	January 18, 1981	January 22, 1981	4 days	California
59		Alexander Haig (1924–2010) [85]		Republican	93–6	January 22, 1981	July 5, 1982	1 year, 164 days	Connecticut		Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
–		Walter J. Stoessel Jr. (1920–1986) [p][86]		Independent	–	July 5, 1982	July 16, 1982	11 days	California
60		George Shultz (1920–2021) [87]		Republican	97–0	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989	6 years, 188 days	California
–		Michael Armacost (1937–2025) [n][88]		Independent	–	January 20, 1989	January 25, 1989	5 days	Maryland		George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
61		James Baker (b. 1930) [89]		Republican	99–0	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992	3 years, 211 days	Texas
62		Lawrence Eagleburger (1930–2011) [90]		Republican	–	August 23, 1992	December 8, 1992[p]	150 days	Florida
					Recess	December 8, 1992	January 20, 1993
–		Arnold Kanter (1945–2010) [r][91]		Independent	–	January 20, 1993	January 20, 1993	0 days	District of Columbia
–		Frank G. Wisner (1938–2025) [s][92]		Independent	–	January 20, 1993	January 20, 1993	0 days	District of Columbia		Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
63		Warren Christopher (1925–2011) [81]		Democratic	Voice	January 20, 1993	January 17, 1997	3 years, 363 days	California
64		Madeleine Albright (1937–2022) [93]		Democratic	99–0	January 23, 1997	January 20, 2001	3 years, 363 days	District of Columbia
65		Colin Powell (1937–2021) [94]		Republican	Voice	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005	4 years, 6 days	Virginia		George W. Bush (2001–2009)
66		Condoleezza Rice (b. 1954) [95]		Republican	85–13	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009	3 years, 360 days	California
–		Bill Burns (b. 1956) [n]		Independent	–	January 20, 2009	January 21, 2009	1 day	District of Columbia		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
67		Hillary Clinton (b. 1947) [96]		Democratic	94–2	January 21, 2009	February 1, 2013	4 years, 11 days	New York
68		John Kerry (b. 1943) [97]		Democratic	94–3	February 1, 2013	January 20, 2017	3 years, 354 days	Massachusetts
–		Tom Shannon (b. 1958) [n][98]		Republican	–	January 20, 2017	February 1, 2017	12 days	Minnesota		Donald Trump (2017–2021)
69		Rex Tillerson (b. 1952) [99]		Republican	55–43	February 1, 2017	March 31, 2018	1 year, 58 days	Texas
–		John Sullivan (b. 1959) [p]		Republican	–	April 1, 2018	April 26, 2018	25 days	Massachusetts
70		Mike Pompeo (b. 1963) [100]		Republican	57–42	April 26, 2018	January 20, 2021	2 years, 269 days	Kansas
–		Daniel Bennett Smith (b. 1956) [t][101]		Independent	–	January 20, 2021	January 26, 2021	6 days	Virginia		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
71		Antony Blinken (b. 1962) [102]		Democratic	78–22	January 26, 2021	January 20, 2025	3 years, 360 days	New York
–		Lisa D. Kenna (b. 1965) [u]		Independent	–	January 20, 2025	January 21, 2025	1 day	Vermont		Donald Trump (2025–present)
72		Marco Rubio (b. 1971)		Republican	99–0	January 21, 2025	present	116 days	Florida

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	4289	1
54	Dean Rusk	2921	2
24	William H. Seward	2921
26	Hamilton Fish	2917	4
5	James Madison	2862	5
8	John Quincy Adams	2719	6
37	John Hay	2465	7
13	John Forsyth	2437	8
60	George Shultz	2380	9
52	John Foster Dulles	2282	10
7	James Monroe	2011	11
42	Robert Lansing	1695	12
55	William P. Rogers	1685	13
14/19	Daniel Webster	1617	14
3	Timothy Pickering	1614	15
45	Frank B. Kellogg	1484	16
28/31	James G. Blaine	1472	17
67	Hillary Clinton	1472
65	Colin Powell	1467	19
51	Dean Acheson	1460	20
21	William L. Marcy	1460
30	Thomas F. Bayard Sr.	1460
40	Philander C. Knox	1460
44	Charles Evans Hughes	1460
63	Warren Christopher	1458	25
64	Madeleine Albright	1458
17	James Buchanan	1458
9	Henry Clay	1457	28
27	William M. Evarts	1456	29
66	Condoleezza Rice	1455	30
71	Antony Blinken	1455
68	John Kerry	1449	32
46	Henry L. Stimson	1437	33
1	Thomas Jefferson	1380	34
22	Lewis Cass	1379	35
61	James Baker	1306	36
38	Elihu Root	1288	37
56	Henry Kissinger	1216	38
57	Cyrus Vance	1191	39
29	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen	1173	40
70	Mike Pompeo	1000	41
41	William Jennings Bryan	826	42
33	Walter Q. Gresham	812	43
10	Martin Van Buren	786	44
6	Robert Smith	756	45
11	Edward Livingston	736	46
50	George C. Marshall	730	47
53	Christian Herter	639	48
34	Richard Olney	634	49
2	Edmund Randolph	595	50
49	James F. Byrnes	567	51
59	Alexander Haig	529	52
18	John M. Clayton	501	53
69	Rex Tillerson	423	54
35	John Sherman	417	55
12	Louis McLane	397	56
43	Bainbridge Colby	346	57
16	John C. Calhoun	343	58
4	John Marshall	264	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
72	Marco Rubio	116	66
23	Jeremiah S. Black	78	67
62	Lawrence Eagleburger	43	68
39	Robert Bacon	37	69
25	Elihu B. Washburne	11	70

Notes

1. Where no vote is listed, confirmation was by voice vote or otherwise unrecorded.^[2]
2. As Secretary of War.
3. As Attorney General.
4. As Chief Justice of the United States.
5. As Chief Clerk of the State Department.
6. This appears to have been a recess appointment that was never submitted to the Senate.^[2]
7. As Secretary of the Navy.
8. 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.
9. As Assistant Secretary of State.
10. As Second Assistant Secretary of State.
11. Where no vote is listed, confirmation was by voice vote or otherwise unrecorded.^[2]
12. As Counselor for the Department of State.
13. As Under Secretary of State.
14. As Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
15. As Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
16. As Deputy Secretary of State.
17. As Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.
18. As Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
19. As Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs.
20. As Director of the Foreign Service Institute.
21. As Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research