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/