What is "secretary of state"

State \State\ (st[=a]t), n. [OE. stat, OF. estat, F. ['e]tat, fr. L. status a standing, position, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf. Estate, Status.]

1. The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time.

   State is a term nearly synonymous with ``mode,'' but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent.
   --Sir W. Hamilton.

   Declare the past and present state of things.
   --Dryden.

   Keep the state of the question in your eye.
   --Boyle.

2. Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor.

   Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me.
   --Shak.

3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.

   She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes.
   --Bacon.

   Can this imperious lord forget to reign, Quit all his state, descend, and serve again?
   --Pope.

4. Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp.

   Where least of state there most of love is shown.
   --Dryden.

5. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself. [Obs.]

   His high throne, . . . under state Of richest texture spread.
   --Milton.

   When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl.
   --Swift.

6. Estate; possession. [Obs.]
   --Daniel.

   Your state, my lord, again is yours.
   --Massinger.

7. A person of high rank. [Obs.]
   --Latimer.

8. Any body of men united by profession, or constituting a community of a particular character; as, the civil and ecclesiastical states, or the lords spiritual and temporal and the commons, in Great Britain. Cf. Estate, n., 6.

9. The principal persons in a government.

   The bold design Pleased highly those infernal states.
   --Milton.

10. The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.

11. A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic. [Obs.]

    Well monarchies may own religion's name, But states are atheists in their very fame.
    --Dryden.

12. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation.

    Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state.
    --Blackstone.

    The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop.
    --R. Choate.

13. In the United States, one of the commonwealths, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stand in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealths, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited.

    Note: The term State, in its technical sense, is used in distinction from the federal system, i. e., the government of the United States.

14. Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.

    Note: When state is joined with another word, or used adjectively, it denotes public, or what belongs to the community or body politic, or to the government; also, what belongs to the States severally in the American Union; as, state affairs; state policy; State laws of Iowa.

    Nascent state. (Chem.) See under Nascent.

    Secretary of state. See Secretary, n., 3.

    State bargea royal barge, or a barge belonging to a government.

    State bed, an elaborately carved or decorated bed.

    State carriage, a highly decorated carriage for officials going in state, or taking part in public processions.

    State paper, an official paper relating to the interests or government of a state.
    --Jay.

    State prison, a public prison or penitentiary; -- called also State's prison.

    State prisoner, one in confinement, or under arrest, for a political offense.

    State rights, or States' rights, the rights of the several independent States, as distinguished from the rights of the Federal government. It has been a question as to what rights have been vested in the general government. [U.S.]

    State's evidence. See Probator, 2, and under Evidence.

    State sword, a sword used on state occasions, being borne before a sovereign by an attendant of high rank.

    State trial, a trial of a person for a political offense.

    States of the Church. See under Ecclesiastical.

    Syn: State, Situation, Condition.

    Usage: State is the generic term, and denotes in general the mode in which a thing stands or exists. The situation of a thing is its state in reference to external objects and influences; its condition is its internal state, or what it is in itself considered. Our situation is good or bad as outward things bear favorably or unfavorably upon us; our condition is good or bad according to the state we are actually in as respects our persons, families, property, and other things which comprise our sources of enjoyment.

    I do not, brother, Infer as if I thought my sister's state Secure without all doubt or controversy.
    --Milton.

    We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life.
    --Cook.

    And, O, what man's condition can be worse Than his whom plenty starves and blessings curse?
    --Cowley.

Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) was a Sub-Cabinet Post in the Cabinet of Canada. The post was created in 1993 with the Department of Secretary of State (created 1868) and abolished in 2003 (the Department attached to the post was eliminated in 1993 and the remaining role was finally transferred to the Minister of Canadian Heritage in 1996).

A list of junior ministers:

• Raymond Chan 1993-2001
• Rey Pagtakhan 2001-2002
• David Kilgour 2002-2003

Secretary of State was a title given to some Ministers of State in the Government of Canada sitting outside Cabinet from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2008. Secretaries of State were members of the ministry and the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. Just as Ministers of State, they were assigned to assist Cabinet ministers, but unlike ministers of state are not themselves members of Cabinet. For instance, the Secretary of State (Training and Youth) would assist the Minister for Human Resources and Development. This usage is opposite to that in the United Kingdom, where junior Ministers generally report to more senior Secretaries of State.

These positions were first used by Jean Chrétien as a way to decrease the size of the cabinet without substantially decreasing the size of the ministry. When Paul Martin became Prime Minister in 2003, this usage ended, and he instead appointed Ministers of State and increased the powers of Parliamentary Secretaries to act in junior policy positions.

Martin's successor Stephen Harper resumed the use of secretaries of state in a Cabinet shuffle on January 4, 2007, but went back to Ministers of State in his October 2008 Cabinet.

This generic usage should not be confused with the former cabinet positions of Secretary of State for Canada (1867–1996) and Secretary of State for External Affairs (1909–1995).

In the United Kingdom, a Secretary of State (SofS) is a Cabinet Minister in charge of a Government Department (though not all departments are headed by a Secretary of State, e.g. HM Treasury is headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer).

There are a number of Secretaries of State, each formally titled "Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for ...". Legislation generally only refers to "The Secretary of State" without specifying which one; by virtue of the Interpretation Act 1978 this phrase means "one of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State". These positions can be created without primary legislation, nowadays at the behest of the Prime Minister.

The Secretary of Scotland was a senior post in the government of the Kingdom of Scotland.

The office appeared in the 14th century (or earlier) when it was combined with that of Keeper of the Privy Seal. Called Clericus Regis (although some have applied that to the Lord Clerk Register), he was regarded as an Officer of State. The Secretary was constantly to attend the King's person, receive the petitions and memorials that were presented to him, and write the King's answers upon them. All Letters Patent passed through his hands, and were drawn up by him as with all the King's letters and dispatches, warrants, orders, &c. In the case of lengthy documents a short docket was also subscribed by the Secretary for the King's perusal, as a summary; and as all the writings signed by the King came through his hands, he was answerable for them if they contained anything derogatory to the laws or the dignity of The Crown.

From 1626 until their respective deaths, King Charles I divided the duties between two Secretaries, the Earl of Glencairn and Sir Archibald Achison of Glencairn.

The Secretary did not invariably sit in the Parliament of Scotland after 1603, because his duties normally involved his attendance upon the monarch who was thereafter resident in England. Between 1608 and 1640 there were often two Secretaries, which became normal practice after 1680, although only one could sit in Parliament.

The office was abolished as such in 1709, though from then until 1725 and again from 1742 to 1746 there was a third Secretary of State with particular responsibility for Scottish affairs, for those posts, see Secretary of State for Scotland.

The Secretary of State was the name of several official governmental positions – supervising war, foreign affairs, the navy, the king's household, the clergy, Paris, and Protestant affairs – during the Ancien Régime in France, roughly equivalent to the positions of governmental ministers today. The positions were created in 1547, but gained in importance only after 1588. The various secretaries of state were considered part of the Great Officers of the Crown of France.

The Secretary of State for Western Economic Diversification is a former federal government position in Canada, introduced by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1996. It was not a full cabinet portfolio, and ministers who held the position provided assistance to the Minister of Western Economic Diversification.

The position was discontinued when Paul Martin replaced Chrétien as Prime Minister in 2003.

The Principal Secretary of State, or Principal Secretary of the Council, was a government office in the Kingdom of Ireland. It was abolished in 1801 when Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800.

Secretary of State may refer to the following:

• Secretary of State, in several countries, a senior government position
• Secretary of State (United Kingdom)
• Secretary of State (England)
• United States Secretary of State
• Secretary of State (U.S. state government)
• State Secretary (Netherlands)
• State Secretary (Norway)

Secretary of state is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the secretary of the commonwealth. In states that have one, the secretary of state is the chief clerk of the state, and is often the primary custodian of important state records. In the states of Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah, there is no Secretary of State; in those states many duties that a secretary of state might normally execute fall within the domain of the lieutenant governor. Like the lieutenant governor, in most states the secretary of state is in the line of succession to succeed the governor, in most cases immediately behind the lieutenant governor. In three states with no lieutenant governor ( Arizona, Oregon and Wyoming) as well as the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the secretary of state is first in the line of succession in the event of a gubernatorial vacancy.

Currently, in 35 states, such as California, Illinois, and Mississippi, the secretary of state is elected, usually for a four-year term. In others, the secretary of state is appointed by the governor; Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia are amongst the states with this practice. In three states, the secretary of state is elected by the state legislature; the General Assembly of Tennessee meets in joint convention to elect the Secretary of State to a four-year term, and the Maine Legislature and New Hampshire General Court also select their secretaries of state, but to two-year terms. The longest serving state secretary of state in history was Thad A. Eure of North Carolina, who served from 1936 until 1989.

Most secretaries of state, or those acting in that capacity (with the exception of Wisconsin and Hawaii), belong to the National Association of Secretaries of State.

The Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development is a former federal government position in Canada. It was not a full cabinet portfolio, but was instead affiliated with Industry Canada, overseen by the Minister of Industry. The ministers who held this position were, in effect, policy assistants to the Industry Minister.

The position was established by incoming Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in the aftermath of the 1993 federal election, and was discontinued when Paul Martin succeeded Chrétien in 2003.

On October 30, 2008, a similar portfolio was revived as the Minister of State (Science & Technology) by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary.

From the time of Henry VIII, there were usually two secretaries. After the restoration of the monarchy of 1660, the two posts were specifically designated as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department and the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Both dealt with Home Affairs and they divided Foreign Affairs between them.

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government.

In many countries, a Secretary of State is a mid-level post. It is usually a politically appointed position, although in some countries, such as Germany and Sweden, it can be filled by a member of the executive bureaucracy (civil service) as a political appointment. In the Holy See, there is one Secretary of State, who coordinates all the departments of the Roman Curia (that is, equivalent to a Prime Minister). In the United Kingdom a Secretary of State is a member of the Cabinet appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister (that is, equivalent to a Minister). In the federal government of the United States, there is one Secretary of State, the most senior political appointee responsible for foreign policy (that is, equivalent to a Foreign Minister).