Secretary of State
Virtually all countries have an official responsible for foreign affairs and diplomacy, who may be called the Foreign Minister, or, as in the federal government of the United States of America, Secretary of State is the title of the official responsible for foreign affairs and is the chief diplomat; ambassadors, in principle, report to the chief diplomat.
United States Secretary of State
The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet, reports directly to the President, and is fourth in line to succeed to the Presidency in case of vacancy (after the Vice President, Speaker of the House, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate).
International usage of "secretary of state"
In many countries, a "secretary of state" is a government official, often the senior member of the professional civil service in a particular area. In other countries, the title of the head of a cabinet-level department may be "Secretary" with "Minister" being more junior, or the reverse may be true.
Secretaries of State of the individual United States of America
Forty-seven of the fifty states of the U.S. also have officials called Secretary of State (or of the Commonwealth), responsible for such things as registering corporations, certifying the results of elections, keeping certain official records, and appointing notaries public, although the specific duties of the office vary from state to state.
List of Secretary of State Offices
Below is a list of websites for the Secretary of State offices in the U.S. with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah. In those states, the typical Secretary-of-State-like duties are carried out by various combinations of the Lieutenant Governor's office, the Department of Commerce, and an Elections Commission.
| List of Secretary of State Offices | Official Website |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State of Alabama | http://www.sos.state.al.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Arizona | http://www.azsos.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Arkansas | http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of California | http://www.sos.ca.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Colorado | http://www.sos.state.co.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Connecticut | http://www.sots.ct.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Delaware | http://sos.delaware.gov/default.shtml |
| Secretary of State of Florida | http://oss.dos.state.fl.us |
| Secretary of State of Georgia | http://www.sos.state.ga.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Idaho | http://www.sos.idaho.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Illinois | http://www.sos.state.il.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Indiana | http://www.in.gov/sos/ |
| Secretary of State of Iowa | http://www.sos.state.ia.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Kansas | http://www.kssos.org/ |
| Secretary of State of Kentucky | http://sos.ky.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Louisiana | http://www.sec.state.la.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Maine | http://www.maine.gov/sos/ |
| Secretary of State of Maryland | http://www.sos.state.md.us/ |
| Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts | http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Michigan | http://michigan.gov/sos/ |
| Secretary of State of Minnesota | http://www.sos.state.mn.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Mississippi | http://www.sos.state.ms.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Missouri | http://www.sos.mo.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Montana | http://sos.mt.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Nebraska | http://www.sos.state.ne.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Nevada | http://sos.state.nv.us/ |
| Secretary of State of New Hampshire | http://www.sos.nh.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of New Jersey | http://www.state.nj.us/state/ |
| Secretary of State of New Mexico | http://www.sos.state.nm.us/ |
| Secretary of State of New York | http://www.dos.state.ny.us/ |
| Secretary of State of North Carolina | http://www.secstate.state.nc.us/ |
| Secretary of State of North Dakota | http://www.nd.gov/sos/ |
| Secretary of State of Ohio | http://www.sos.state.oh.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Oklahoma | http://www.sos.state.ok.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Oregon | http://www.sos.state.or.us/ |
| Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | http://www.dos.state.pa.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Rhode Island | http://www.sec.state.ri.us/ |
| Secretary of State of South Carolina | http://www.scsos.com/ |
| Secretary of State of South Dakota | http://www.sdsos.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Tennessee | http://www.tennessee.gov/sos/index.htm |
| Secretary of State of Texas | http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Vermont | http://www.sec.state.vt.us/ |
| Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia | http://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of Washington | http://www.secstate.wa.gov/ |
| Secretary of State of West Virginia | http://www.wvsos.com/ |
| Secretary of State of Wisconsin | http://www.sos.state.wi.us/ |
| Secretary of State of Wyoming | http://soswy.state.wy.us/ |