Secretary of state: Difference between revisions

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{{Executive}}
 
The title '''secretary of state''' or '''state's secretary'''{{NoteTag|1= This and many other government and judiciary titles are often capitalized in government documents in violation of the much more common rule in English to capitalize titles only before a name{{cn|date=September 2023}}(see e.g. Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., 2017, sec. 8.19, 8.22), when it in fact becomes part of the name. Therefore lowercase spelling is the first or only variant recorded in some major dictionaries such as the [https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=secretary+of+state+&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 American Heritage Dictionary], the [https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/judiciary Oxford Online Dictionaries]{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, and the [http://dictionary.infoplease.com/secretary-of-state Random House Dictionary].}} is commonly used for senior or mid-level posts in [[government]]s around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple '''secretaries of state''' in the country's system of governing the country.
 
In many countries, a secretary of state is a senior or 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 (equivalent to [[permanent secretary]]). In the [[Holy See]], the administrative body of the [[Catholic Church]], the [[cardinal secretary of state]] coordinates all the departments of the [[Roman Curia]] (and is in that respect equivalent to a [[prime minister]]). In the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)|secretary of state]] is a member of the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|cabinet]] appointed by the reigning monarch{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]] (and thus equivalent to a [[cabinet minister]]). The [[United States secretary of state]] is the [[foreign minister]] of the [[federal government of the United States]] while in most of the individual [[U.S. state]]s the [[Secretary of state (U.S. state government)|secretary of state]] is an administrative officer responsible for certain governmental functions, often including overseeing elections, tasks which would be exercised by [[interior minister]]s or [[interior secretary|secretaries]] in most other nations.
 
The [[United States secretary of state]] is the [[foreign minister]] of the [[federal government of the United States]] while in most of the individual [[U.S. state]]s the [[Secretary of state (U.S. state government)|secretary of state]] is an administrative officer responsible for certain governmental functions, often including overseeing elections, tasks which would be exercised by [[interior minister]]s or [[interior secretary|secretaries]] in most other nations.
The term [[Secretary of State (England)|secretary of state]] originated in early 17th century England.
 
The term secretary of state [[Secretary of State (England)|secretary of state]] originated in early 17th century England]].
 
==Africa==
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====Federal government====
{{Main|United States Secretary of State}}
In the United States ''federal'' government, "Secretary of State" refers to the official responsible for executing the non-military and non-homeland security aspects of foreign policy, the analogue of the foreign secretary or [[foreign minister]] of a country that has one or the other. The U.S. secretary of state is head of the [[United States Department of State]]. The secretary of state is responsible for the administration of United States embassies and their subsidiary units throughout the world.
 
The U.S. secretary of state has the power to remove any foreign diplomat from U.S. soil for any reason.
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The German {{lang | de | Staatssekretär}} is a {{lang | de | [[Beamter]]}} (civil servant) who ranks second only to the minister in a state or federal ministry, so the position is equivalent to that of [[Permanent secretary]] in the United Kingdom, not to that of a [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)| U.K. Secretary of State]]. While officially it is not a political office, often it is assigned by appointment based on political criteria such as party affiliation,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mux041 | doi=10.1093/jopart/mux041 | title=The Determinants of Promotion to High Public Office in Germany: Partisan Loyalty, Political Craft, or Managerial Competencies? | year=2017 | last1=Bach | first1=Tobias | last2=Veit | first2=Sylvia | journal=Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory }}</ref> rather than by career progression as a civil servant. Nevertheless, {{lang | de | Staatssekretäre}} function as the administrative heads of ministries. They depend on the full confidence of their respective ministers and can at any time be posted into provisional retirement with their pension paid in full. This happens usually when the government or the minister changes. ''De facto'' such a provisional retirement is lifelong.
 
A special case is the [[Parliamentary State Secretary]] (''{{lang|de|Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär}}''), who is a member of parliament who is appointed to a ministry as a ''Staatssekretär''; in the [[Foreign Office (Germany) |German Foreign Office]] and the [[German Chancellery]] the official title is {{lang | de | Staatsminister}} ([[Minister of State]]). Such posts, which were intended to improve the connection between ministries and the parliament, have recently{{Clarify timeframe|date=July 2023}} become the subject of some controversy. Critics claim that parliamentary secretaries of state are usually given little to no influence and responsibility within their ministry, all the while drawing very generous pay due to receiving two salaries, both as a secretary of state and as a member of parliament. For example, when interviewed in 2005 about his post as a parliamentary minister of state in the German Foreign Office (1998-20021998–2002) during an [[German Visa Affair 2005| investigation into visa abuse]], {{Ill|Ludger Volmer|de}} claimed that he had been cut off from the workflow within the ministry, and called the ''Staatsminister'' office an "''Unding''" (absurdity).
 
In 1998, chancellor [[Gerhard Schröder]] introduced the new office of [[Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media]] ({{lang-de | Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien}}) at the formal rank of a {{lang | de | Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär}}, hence the office is usually called {{lang | de | Kulturstaatsminister}} ("State Minister of Culture") for short – although some of the incumbents did not hold a seat in parliament. The {{Ill|German Parliamentary Commission for Culture and the Media|de|Ausschuss für Kultur und Medien}} ({{lang-de | Ausschuss für Kultur und Medien}}) serves in place of a proper ministry for this department. Since 1998, the office of {{lang | de | Kulturstaatsminister}} has been held by [[Michael Naumann]] (1998–2001), [[Julian Nida-Rümelin]] (2001–2002), [[Christina Weiss]] (2002–2005), [[Bernd Neumann]] (2005-20132005–2013), [[Monika Grütters]] (2013-20212013–2021) and [[Claudia Roth]] (since 2021).
 
===Greece===
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===Netherlands===
As in France and Belgium, a [[State Secretary (Netherlands)|State Secretary]] in the Netherlands is a junior minister who is responsible to a Cabinet Minister or the Prime Minister. Some of them may, in specific circumstances, call themselves Minister when visiting a foreign country. Each State Secretary has a certain portfolio, which is different thento their Cabinet Minister, tooto split up the responsibilities and relieve the workload.
 
The top civil servant in a government department is called Secretary-General ''(secretaris-generaal)''.
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In [[Portugal]], a secretary of State ([[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''secretário de Estado'', masculine; ''secretária de Estado'', feminine; ''secretários de Estado'', plural) is a junior minister, of intermediate rank between that of cabinet minister and that of under-secretary of State. Although having the Constitutional status of [[Government of Portugal|Government members]], the secretaries of State do not usually participate in the [[Cabinet of Portugal|Council of Ministers]], unless summoned for certain meetings and, in those cases, without right to vote. They act merely as deputies of ministers, having only the powers delegated to them by their ministers or directly by the [[Prime Minister of Portugal|prime minister]].
 
Until the reorganization of the Portuguese Public Administration structure in 2004, it was common for a secretary of State to be in charge of a secretariat of State ({{lang-pt|secretaria de Estado}}), a Government department with a status below that of a ministry. A secretariat of State could be organized as a division of a ministry or occasionally be directly subordinate to the Prime Minister. For example, from 1987 to 1995, a Secretariat of State for the Culture existed directly subordinate to the Prime Minister. Despite this type of departamentdepartment no longer officially existing in the organization of the Portuguese Government, it is still common usage for the portfolio of a secretary of State to be colloquially referred to as a "secretariat of State".
 
Historically, since the 17th century, the title of "secretary of State" was used to designate the heads of the Government departments of Portugal. In the 19th century, the title of "minister" started to be used, the official complete title of each of the ministers becoming "minister and secretary of State of a given portfolio" until the end of the [[List of Portuguese monarchs|Monarchy in 1910]]. From them on, the title "minister" completely replaced that of "secretary of State" (with the exception of the brief [[presidential system]] that existed during 1918, in which the ministers were re-titled "secretaries of State"). In 1958, the title of "secretary of State" was reintroduced to designate the then created role of a junior minister, subordinate to a cabinet minister.
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In present-day organisation of the [[Spanish government|Spanish Government]] a ''Secretario de Estado'' is a junior minister. Each ministry may have one or several Secretaries of State. For example, the [[Secretary of State for International Cooperation|Secretary of State for Latin America]] works for the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Spain)|Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation]].
 
From 1715 to 1834 the ''[[Secretary of State (Ancient Regime in Spain)|Secretarios de Estado y del Despacho]]'' were the heads of different government departments. The Secretary of State usually served as Chief Minister (See [[List of prime ministers of Spain]]).
 
===Sweden===