Secretary of State

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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/