United States Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State
Seal of the Secretary of State
Flag of the Secretary of State
Incumbent Antony Blinken since January 26, 2021
United States Department of State
Style	Mr./Madam Secretary (informal) The Honorable[1] (formal) His/Her Excellency[2] (diplomatic)
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Constituting instrument	22 U.S.C. § 2651
Precursor	Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Formation	July 27, 1789; 234 years ago (1789-07-27)
First holder	Thomas Jefferson
Succession	Fourth[3]
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of State
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I[4]
Website	www.state.gov

The United States Secretary of State (commonly abbreviated as SecState) is the head of the United States Department of State. This department deals with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. This person is the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The President chooses the person they want to be Secretary of the State. The United States Senate must agree with this choice for the person to become the Secretary of State.

The position of Secretary of State was created on April 6, 1789. Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary. The Presidential order of succession lists the Secretary of State as the 4th person in line if something happens to the President.

1. ↑ https://www.state.gov/protocol-reference/
2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2021-01-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ↑ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". Cornell Law School.
4. ↑ 5 U.S.C. § 5312.