Name All U.S. Secretaries of State

Acting capacity is denoted by (Acting) before the time served. Acting Secretaries of state don't have a number as secretary of state for only serving in an acting capacity but could still be worth listing. The Secretary of state is the key advisor to the president on foreign affairs and carries out foreign policy through the Department of State
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Last updated: November 15, 2025
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First submittedNovember 15, 2025
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Home State
Answer
(Acting) September 15, 1789 - March 22, 1790
George Washington
New York
John Jay
March 22, 1790 - December 31, 1793
George Washington
Virginia
Thomas Jefferson
January 2, 1794 - August 20, 1795
George Washington
Virginia
Edmund Randolph
August 20, 1795 - May 12, 1800
George Washington, John Adams
Pennsylvania
Timothy Pickering
(Acting) May 13, 1800 - June 5, 1800
John Adams
Virginia
Charles Lee
June 13, 1800 - February 4, 1801 (acting) February 4, 1801 - March 4, 1801
John Adams
Virginia
John Marshall
(Acting) March 5, 1801 - May 1, 1801
Thomas Jefferson
Massachusetts
Levi Lincoln Sr.
May 2, 1801 - March 3, 1809
Thomas Jefferson
Virginia
James Madison
March 6, 1809 - April 1, 1811
James Madison
Maryland
Robert Smith
April 2, 1811 - March 3, 1817
James Madison
Virginia
James Monroe
(Acting) March 4, 1817 - March 9, 1817
James Monroe
Kentucky
John Graham
(Acting) March 10, 1817 - September 22, 1817
James Monroe
Pennsylvania
Richard Rush
September 22, 1817 - March 3, 1825
James Monroe
Massachusetts
John Quincy Adams
(Acting) March 4, 1825 - March 7, 1825
John Quincy Adams
Virginia
Daniel Brent
March 7, 1825 - March 3, 1829
John Quincy Adams
Kentucky
Henry Clay
March 4, 1829 - March 27, 1829
Andrew Jackson
New York
James Alexander Hamilton
March 28, 1829 - May 23, 1831
Andrew Jackson
New York
Martin Van Buren
May 24, 1831 - May 29, 1833
Andrew Jackson
Louisiana
Edward Livingston
May 29, 1833 - June 30, 1834
Andrew Jackson
Delaware
Louis McLane
July 1, 1834 - March 3, 1841
Martin Van Buren
Georgia
John Forsyth
(Acting)March 4, 1841 - March 5, 1841
William Henry Harrison
Washington D.C.
Jacob L. Martin
March 6, 1841 - May 8, 1843
William Henry Harrison, John Tyler
Massachusetts
Daniel Webster
(Acting) May 9, 1843 - June 20, 1843
John Tyler
Massachusetts
Hugh S. Legaré
(Acting) June 20, 1843 - June 23, 1843
John Tyler
South Carolina
William S. Derrick
June 24, 1843 - February 28, 1844
John Tyler
Virginia
Abel P. Upshur
(Acting) February 28, 1844 - March 31, 1844
John Tyler
Maryland
John Nelson
April 1, 1844 - March 10, 1845
John Tyler
South Carolina
John C. Calhoun
March 10, 1845 - March 7, 1849
James K. Polk
Pennsylvania
James Buchanan
March 7, 1849 - July 22, 1850
Zachary Tyler, Millard Fillmore
Delaware
John M. Clayton
July 22, 1850 - October 24, 1852
Millard Fillmore
Massachusetts
Daniel Webster
(Acting) October 24, 1852 - November 5, 1852
Millard Fillmore
Louisiana
Charles Magill Conrad
November 6, 1852 - March 3, 1853
Millard Fillmore
Massachusetts
Edward Everett
(Acting) March 3, 1853 -March 7, 1853
Franklin Pierce
Rhode Island
William Hunter
March 7, 1853 - March 6, 1857
Franklin Pierce
New York
William L. Marcy
March 6, 1857 - December 14, 1860
James Buchanan
Michigan
Lewis Cass
(Acting) December 15, 1860 - December 16, 1860
James Buchanan
Rhode Island
William Hunter
December 17, 1860 - March 5, 1861
James Buchanan
New York
Jeremiah S. Black
March 5, 1861 - March 4, 1869
Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson
New York
William H. Seward
March 5, 1869 - March 16, 1869
Ulysses S. Grant
Illinois
Elihu B. Washburne
March 17, 1869 - March 12, 1877
Ulysses S. Grant
New York
Hamilton Fish
March 12, 1877 - March 7, 1881
Rutherford B. Hayes
New York
William M. Evarts
March 7, 1881 - December 19, 1881
James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur
Maine
James G. Blaine
December 19, 1881 - March 6, 1885
Chester A. Arthur
New Jersey
Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
March 7, 1885 - March 6, 1889
Grover Cleveland
Delaware
Thomas F. Bayard
March 7, 1889 - June 4, 1892
Benjamin Harrison
Maine
James G. Blaine
(Acting) June 4, 1892 - June 29, 1892
Benjamin Harrison
Massachusetts
William F. Wharton
June 29, 1892 -February 23, 1893
Benjamin Harrison
Indiana
George W. Foster
(Acting) February 24, 1893 - March 6, 1893
Grover Cleveland
Massachusetts
William F. Wharton
March 7, 1893 - May 28, 1895
Grover Cleveland
Illinois
Walter Q. Gresham
(Acting) May 28, 1895 - June 9, 1895
Grover Cleveland
Michigan
Edwin F. Uhl
June 9, 1895 - March 5, 1897
Grover Cleveland
Massachusetts
Richard Olney
March 5, 1897 - April 27, 1898
William McKinley
Ohio
John Sherman
April 27, 1898 - September 16, 1898
William McKinley
Ohio
William R. Day
(Acting) September 16, 1898 - September 29, 1898
William McKinley
New York
Alvey A. Adee
September 30, 1898 - July 1, 1905
William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt
Washington D.C.
John Hay
(Acting) July 1, 1905 - July 18, 1905
Theodore Roosevelt
Ohio
Francis B. Loomis
July 18, 1905 - January 27, 1909
Theodore Roosevelt
New York
Elihu Root
January 27, 1909 - March 5, 1909
Theodore Roosevelt
New York
Robert Bacon
March 6, 1909 - March 5, 1913
William Howard Taft
Pennsylvania
Philander C. Knox
March 5, 1913 - June 9, 1915
Woodrow Wilson
Nebraska
William Jennings Bryan
June 9, 1915 -February 13, 1920
Woodrow Wilson
New York
Robert Lansing
(Acting) February 13, 1920 - March 14, 1920
Woodrow Wilson
New York
Frank Polk
March 14, 1920 - March 4, 1921
Woodrow Wilson
New York
Bainbridge Colby
March 5, 1921 - March 4, 1925
Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge
New York
Charles Evans Hughes
March 5, 1925 - March 28, 1929
Herbert Hoover
Minnesota
Frank B. Kellogg
March 28, 1929 - March 4, 1933
Herbert Hoover
New York
Henry L. Stimson
March 4, 1933 - November 30, 1944
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Tennessee
Cordell Hull
December 1, 1944 - June 27, 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman
Virginia
Edward Stettinius Jr.
(Acting) June 27, 1945 - July 3, 1945
Harry S Truman
New Hampshire
Joseph Grew
July 3, 1945 - January 21, 1947
Harry S Truman
South Carolina
James F. Byrnes
January 21, 1947 - January 20, 1949
Harry S Truman
Pennsylvania
George C. Marshall
January 20, 1949 - January 20, 1953
Harry S Truman
Maryland
Dean Acheson
(Acting) January 20, 1953 -January 21, 1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Maryland
H. Freeman Matthews
January 21, 1953 - April 22, 1959
Dwight D. Eisenhower
New York
John Foster Dulles
April 22, 1959 - January 20, 1961
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Massachusetts
Christian Herter
(Acting) January 20, 1961 -January 21, 1961
John F. Kennedy
Washington, D.C.
Livingston T. Merchant
January 21, 1961 - January 20, 1969
John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
New York
Dean Rush
(Acting) January 20, 1969 - January 22, 1969
Richard Nixon
Washington D.C.
William P. Rogers
January 22, 1969 - September 3, 1973
Richard Nixon
Maryland
William P. Rogers
(Acting) September 3, 1973 - September 22, 1973
Richard Nixon
Florida
Kenneth Rush
September 22, 1973 - January 20, 1977
Gerald Ford
Washington DC
Henry Kissinger
(Acting) January 20, 1977 - January 23, 1977
Jimmy Carter
California
Philip Habib
January 23, 1977 - April 28, 1980
Jimmy Carter
New York
Cyrus Vance
(Acting) April 28, 1980 - May 2, 1980
Jimmy Carter
California
Warren Christopher
(Acting)May 2, 1980 - May 3, 1980
Jimmy Carter
California
David D. Newsom
(Acting) May 3, 1980
Jimmy Carter
Connecticut
Richard N. Cooper
(Acting) May 3, 1980 - May 4, 1980
Jimmy Carter
California
David D. Newsom
(Acting) May 4, 1980 - May 8, 1980
Jimmy Carter
California
Warren Christopher
May 8, 1980 - January 18, 1981
Jimmy Carter
Maine
Edmund Muskie
(Acting) January 18, 1981 - January 22, 1981
Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan
California
David D. Newson
January 22, 1981 - July 5, 1982
Ronald Reagan
Connecticut
Alexander Haig
(Acting) July 5, 1982 -July 16, 1982
Ronald Reagan
California
Walter J. Stoessel Jr.
July 16, 1982 - January 20, 1989
Ronald Reagan
California
George Shultz
(Acting) January 20, 1989 -January 25, 1989
George H.W. Bush
Maryland
Michael Armacost
January 25, 1989 - August 23, 1992
George H.W. Bush
Texas
James Baker
August 23, 1992 - January 20, 1993
George H.W. Bush
Florida
Lawrence Eagleburger
January 20, 1993
George H.W. Bush
Washington, D.C.
Arnold Kanter
January 20, 1993
Bill Clinton
Washington D.C
Frank G. Wisner
January 20, 1993 - January 17, 1997
Bill Clinton
California
Warren Christopher
January 23, 1997 - January 20, 2001
Bill Clinton
Washington D.C.
Madeleine Albright
January 20, 2001 - January 26, 2005
George W. Bush
Virginia
Colin Powell
January 26, 2005 - January 20, 2009
George W. Bush
California
Condoleezza Rice
(Acting) January 20, 2009 - January 21, 2009
Barrack Obama
Washington D.C.
Bill Burns
January 21, 2009 - February 1, 2013
Barack Obama
New York
Hillary Clinton
February 1, 2013 - January 20, 2017
Barack Obama
Massachusetts
John Kerry
(Acting) January 20, 2017 - February 1, 2017
Donald Trump
Minnesota
Tom Shannon
February 1, 2017 - March 31, 2018
Donald Trump
Texas
Rex Tillerson
(Acting) April 1, 2018 - April 26, 2018
Donald Trump
Massachusetts
John Sullivan
April 26, 2018 - January 20, 2021
Donald Trump
Kansas
Mike Pompeo
(Acting) January 20, 2021 - January 26, 2021
Joe Biden
Virginia
Daniel Bennett Smith
January 26, 2021 - January 20, 2025
Joe Biden
New York
Antony Blinken
(Acting) January 20, 2025 - January 21, 2025
Donald Trump
Vermont
Lisa D. Kenna
January 21, 2025 - present
Donald Trump
Florida
Marco Rubio
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