List of Secretaries of State of the United States

United States Secretary of State
Official Seal
Incumbent John Kerry since February 1, 2013
United States Department of State
Appointer	President of United States
Inaugural holder	Thomas Jefferson
Formation	July 27, 1789
Succession	Fourth
Website	www.state.gov

This is a list of Secretaries of State of the United States.

Secretaries of Foreign Affairs (1781–1789)

Main article: United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs

List of Secretaries of State

Parties
No party   Federalist   Democratic-Republican   Democratic   Whig   Republican
Status
Denotes acting Secretary of State

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
-		John Jay (acting)	New York	September 26, 1789	March 22, 1790		George Washington
1		Thomas Jefferson	Virginia	March 22, 1790	December 31, 1793
2		Edmund J. Randolph	Virginia	January 2, 1794	August 20, 1795
3		Timothy Pickering	Massachusetts	August 20, 1795	December 10, 1795
				December 10, 1795	March 4, 1797
				March 4, 1797	May 12, 1800		John Adams
-		Charles Lee (acting)	Virginia	May 13, 1800	June 5, 1800
4		John Marshall	Virginia	June 13, 1800	March 4, 1801
-		Levi Lincoln, Sr. (acting)	Massachusetts	March 5, 1801	May 1, 1801		Thomas Jefferson
5		James Madison	Virginia	May 2, 1801	March 3, 1809
6		Robert Smith	Maryland	March 6, 1809	April 1, 1811		James Madison
7		James Monroe	Virginia	April 2, 1811	March 3, 1817
-		John Graham (acting)	Kentucky	March 4, 1817	March 9, 1817		James Monroe
-		Richard Rush (acting)	Pennsylvania	March 10, 1817	September 22, 1817
8		John Quincy Adams	Massachusetts	September 22, 1817	March 3, 1825
-		Daniel Brent (acting)		March 4, 1825	March 7, 1825		John Quincy Adams
9		Henry Clay	Kentucky	March 7, 1825	March 3, 1829
-		James A. Hamilton (acting)	New York	March 4, 1829	March 27, 1829		Andrew Jackson
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
-		Jacob L. Martin (acting)		March 4, 1841	March 5, 1841		William Harrison
14		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts	March 6, 1841	April 4, 1841
				April 8, 1841	May 8, 1843		John Tyler
-		Hugh S. Legaré (acting)	South Carolina	May 9, 1843	June 20, 1843
-		William S. Derrick (acting)		June 21, 1843	June 23, 1843
15		Abel P. Upshur	Virginia	June 24, 1843	July 23, 1843
				July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844
-		John Nelson (acting)	Maryland	February 29, 1844	March 31, 1844
16		John C. Calhoun	South Carolina	April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845
17		James Buchanan	Pennsylvania	March 10, 1845	March 7, 1849		James K. Polk
18		John M. Clayton	Delaware	March 8, 1849	July 9, 1850		Zachary Taylor
				July 9, 1850	July 22, 1850		Millard Fillmore
19		Daniel Webster	Massachusetts	July 23, 1850	October 24, 1852
-		Charles M. Conrad (acting)	Louisiana	October 25, 1852	November 5, 1852
20		Edward Everett	Massachusetts	November 6, 1852	March 3, 1853
-		William Hunter (acting)	Rhode Island	March 4, 1853	March 7, 1853		Franklin Pierce
21		William L. Marcy	New York	March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857
22		Lewis Cass	Michigan	March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860		James Buchanan
-		William Hunter (acting)	Rhode Island	December 15, 1860	December 16, 1860
23		Jeremiah S. Black	Pennsylvania	December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861
24	William H. Seward	William H. Seward	New York	March 5, 1861	April 15, 1865		Abraham Lincoln
				April 15, 1865	March 4, 1869		Andrew Johnson
25		Elihu B. Washburne	Illinois	March 5, 1869	March 16, 1869		Ulysses S. Grant
26		Hamilton Fish	New York	March 17, 1869	March 4, 1877
				March 4, 1877	March 12, 1877		Rutherford B. Hayes
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
				September 19, 1881	December 19, 1881		Chester A. Arthur
29		Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen	New Jersey	December 19, 1881	March 6, 1885
30		Thomas F. Bayard	Delaware	March 7, 1885	March 6, 1889		Grover Cleveland
31		James G. Blaine	Maine	March 7, 1889	June 4, 1892		Benjamin Harrison
-		William F. Wharton (acting)	Massachusetts	June 4, 1892	June 29, 1892
32		John W. Foster	Indiana	June 29, 1892	February 23, 1893
-		William F. Wharton (acting)	Massachusetts	February 24, 1893	March 6, 1893
							Grover Cleveland
33		Walter Q. Gresham	Indiana	March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895
-		Edwin F. Uhl (acting)	Michigan	May 28, 1895	June 9, 1895
34		Richard Olney	Massachusetts	June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897
35		John Sherman	Ohio	March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898		William McKinley
36		William R. Day	Ohio	April 28, 1898	September 16, 1898
-		Alvey A. Adee (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
-		Francis B. Loomis (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
40		Philander C. Knox	Pennsylvania	March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913		William Howard Taft
41		William Jennings Bryan	Nebraska	March 5, 1913	June 9, 1915		Woodrow Wilson
42		Robert Lansing	New York	June 9, 1915	June 23, 1915
				June 24, 1915	February 13, 1920
-		Frank Polk (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
				August 2, 1923	March 4, 1925		Calvin Coolidge
45		Frank B. Kellogg	Minnesota	March 5, 1925	March 4, 1929
				March 4, 1929	March 28, 1929		Herbert Hoover
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
48		Edward Stettinius, Jr.	Virginia	December 1, 1944	April 12, 1945
				April 12, 1945	June 27, 1945		Harry S. Truman
-		Joseph Grew (acting)	New Hampshire	June 28, 1945	July 3, 1945
49		James F. Byrnes	South Carolina	July 3, 1945	January 21, 1947
50		George C. Marshall	Pennsylvania	January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949
51		Dean Acheson	Connecticut	January 21, 1949	January 20, 1953
-		Harrison F. Matthews	Maryland	January 20, 1953	January 21, 1953		Dwight D. Eisenhower
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
54		Dean Rusk	New York	January 21, 1961	November 22, 1963
				November 22, 1963	January 20, 1969		Lyndon B. Johnson
-		Charles E. Bohlen (acting)	Washington, DC	January 20, 1969	January 22, 1969		Richard Nixon
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	September 22, 1973	August 9, 1974
				August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977		Gerald Ford
-		Philip Habib (acting)	California	January 20, 1977	January 23, 1977		Jimmy Carter
57		Cyrus Vance	West Virginia	January 23, 1977	April 28, 1980
-		Warren Christopher (acting)	California	April 28, 1980	May 2, 1980
-		David D. Newsom (acting)		May 2, 1980	May 3, 1980
-		Richard N. Cooper (acting)		May 3, 1980
-		David D. Newsom (acting)		May 3, 1980	May 4, 1980
-		Warren Christopher (acting)	California	May 4, 1980	May 8, 1980
58		Edmund Muskie	Maine	May 8, 1980	January 20, 1981
59		Alexander Haig	Connecticut	January 22, 1981	July 5, 1982		Ronald Reagan
-		Walter John Stoessel, Jr. (acting)	California	July 5, 1982	July 16, 1982
60		George P. Shultz	California	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989
-		Michael Armacost (acting)	Maryland	January 20, 1989	January 25, 1989		George H. W. Bush
61		James Baker	Texas	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992
62		Lawrence Eagleburger	Wisconsin	August 23, 1992	December 8, 1992
				December 8, 1992	January 20, 1993
-		Arnold Kanter (acting)	Virginia	January 20, 1993		Bill Clinton
-		Frank G. Wisner (acting)		January 20, 1993
63		Warren Christopher	California	January 20, 1993			January 17, 1997
64		Madeleine Albright	District of Columbia	January 23, 1997			January 20, 2001
65		Colin Powell	Virginia	January 20, 2001	January 26, 2005		George W. Bush
66		Condoleezza Rice	California	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009
-		William Joseph Burns (acting)	District of Columbia	January 20, 2009	January 21, 2009		Barack Obama
67		Hillary Clinton	New York	January 21, 2009	February 1, 2013
68		John Kerry	Massachusetts	February 1, 2013	Incumbent

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 8 years. Daniel Webster and James G. Blaine are the only Secretaries of State to have ever served non-consecutive terms. Elihu B. Washburne served as Secretary of State for less than two weeks before becoming Ambassador to France.

# in office	Secretary	Length of service (days)	Rank
47	Cordell Hull		1
54	Dean Rusk		2
24	William H. Seward
8	John Quincy Adams		4
26	Hamilton Fish		5
5	James Madison		6
37	John Hay		7
13	John Forsyth		8
60	George P. Shultz		9
52	John Foster Dulles		10
7	James Monroe	2011	11
42	Robert Lansing		12
55	William P. Rogers		13
14/19	Daniel Webster	1617	14
3	Timothy Pickering		15
45	Frank B. Kellogg		16
28/31	James G. Blaine	1472	17
67	Hillary Clinton
65	Colin Powell		19
51	Dean Acheson		20
21	William L. Marcy
30	Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.
40	Philander C. Knox
44	Charles Evans Hughes
63	Warren Christopher		25
64	Madeleine Albright
17	James Buchanan
9	Henry Clay		28
27	William M. Evarts		29
66	Condoleezza Rice		30
46	Henry L. Stimson		31
1	Thomas Jefferson		32
22	Lewis Cass		33
61	James Baker		34
38	Elihu Root		35
56	Henry Kissinger		36
68	John Kerry		37
57	Cyrus Vance		38
29	Frederick T. Frelinghuysen		39
41	William Jennings Bryan		40
33	Walter Q. Gresham		41
10	Martin Van Buren		42
6	Robert Smith		43
11	Edward Livingston		44
50	George Marshall		45
53	Christian Herter		46
34	Richard Olney		47
2	Edmund Randolph		48
49	James F. Byrnes		49
59	Alexander Haig		50
18	John M. Clayton		51
35	John Sherman		52
12	Louis McLane		53
43	Bainbridge Colby	346	54
16	John C. Calhoun	343	55
4	John Marshall		56
58	Edmund Muskie	257	57
32	John W. Foster	239	58
15	Abel P. Upshur	219	59
48	Edward Stettinius, Jr.	208	60
36	William R. Day	141	61
20	Edward Everett	117	62
23	Jeremiah S. Black	78	63
62	Lawrence Eagleburger	43	64
39	Robert Bacon	37	65
25	Elihu B. Washburne	11	66

Living former Secretaries of State

As of October 2024, there are seven living former Secretaries of State, the oldest being George P. Shultz (served 1982–1989, born 1920). The most recent Secretary of State to die was Lawrence Eagleburger (served 1992–1993, born 1930), on June 4, 2011.

Name	Term of office	Date of birth
Henry Kissinger	1973–1977	(1923-05-27) May 27, 1923
George P. Shultz	1982–1989	(1920-12-13) December 13, 1920
James Baker	1989–1992	(1930-04-28) April 28, 1930
Madeleine Albright	1997–2001	(1937-05-15) May 15, 1937
Colin Powell	2001–2005	(1937-04-05) April 5, 1937
Condoleezza Rice	2005–2009	(1954-11-14) November 14, 1954
Hillary Clinton	2009–2013	(1947-10-26) October 26, 1947

See also

• Living former members of the United States Cabinet
• List of Secretaries of State of the Confederate States of America

Notes

• ^A As United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 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.