secretary of state
89
3.2
- noun
- /ˈsɛkrəˌtɛri əv steɪt/
- Formal
:
secretario de Estado
- The secretary of state announced a new foreign policy during the press conference.
- assistant secretary of state
- president and secretary of state
- deputy secretary of state
There have been black secretaries of state.
- There have been black secretaries of state.
Examples
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I have just returned from Washington, where I saw the president and Mr. Blaine, secretary of state.
Academic text (1998) -
The deputy secretary of state explained this to the committee in these terms:
Academic text (1997) -
I am going to take this to the secretary of state himself.
-
General Washington has written to ask me to return home and become his secretary of state.
-
I'll be there day after tomorrow with the secretary of state.
-
Mr. President, the secretary of state is in Vietnam.
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In theory, each bureau reports directly to the secretary of state.
Academic text (1992) -
The working relationship between the new president, secretary of state, and national security adviser also needs time to evolve.
Academic text (1992) -
However, the president and secretary of state bear primary responsibility for the successes and failures of American foreign policy.
Academic text (1995) -
Our secretary of state has travelled more miles than any in history and we have more embassies than ever.
Synonyms
195
3.5
A government official who manages relations with other countries
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally interpretable as a 'secretary' (a government official) of the 'state' (the nation), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a high-level government official heading a state department. However, the precise portfolio (especially its common identification with foreign affairs in some countries) depends on institutional knowledge and 'secretary' can also mean 'assistant' in everyday usage, so the exact sense is not fully predictable.
Etymology
Secretary of state may come from old times when a secretary was the person who kept a leader's private letters and 'secrets', and state meant the government they worked for. So a secretary of state was the trusted keeper of the state's important business, which is why today the name is used for a top government official who handles relations with other countries.