United States Department of State
The term Department of State redirects here. For the term as used in Ireland, see Department of State (Ireland).The
United States Department of State, often referred to as the
State Department, is the
Cabinet-level
foreign affairs agency of the
United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. It is administered by the
United States Secretary of State.
It is headquartered in the
Harry S Truman Building a few blocks from the
White House in the
Foggy Bottom neighborhood of
Washington, DC. The headquarters house (among other things) the
State Department Operations Center and the
Nuclear Risk Reduction Center.
The
U.S. Constitution, drafted in
Philadelphia in the summer of
1787 and ratified by the states the following year, gave the
President responsibility for the conduct of the nation's foreign relations. It soon became clear, however, that an executive branch was necessary to support the President in the conduct of the affairs of the new Federal Government.
The
House of Representatives and
Senate approved legislation to establish a
Department of Foreign Affairs on
July 21,
1789, and President Washington signed it into law on
July 27, making the Department of Foreign Affairs the first Federal agency to be created under the new Constitution. Furthermore, this legislation remains the basic law of the Department of State. In September 1789, additional legislation changed the name of the agency to the Department of State and assigned to it a variety of domestic duties.
These responsibilities grew to include management of the
United States Mint, keeper of the
Great Seal of the United States, and the taking of the
census. President
George Washington signed the new legislation on
September 15. Most of these domestic duties of the Department of State were eventually turned over to various new Federal departments and agencies that were established during the
19th century.
On
September 29,
1789, President Washington appointed
Thomas Jefferson of
Virginia, then Minister to
France, to be the first
United States Secretary of State.
The State Department became the center of controversy during
McCarthyism in the
1950s, as a number of government officials were interrogated and sometimes
blacklisted for alleged spy activity for the
Soviet Union. Recent declassified Soviet documents have confirmed the existence of spies within the department, though the
anti-communist "witch hunt" also caused many innocent individuals to suffer the loss of their careers and reputations.
On
February 1,
2000, the new
Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation replaced the now extinct
Bureau of Verification and Compliance. On
September 13,
2005, a new bureau, the
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, was created when the
Bureau of Arms Control and the
Bureau of Nonproliferation were merged together. The then-current head of the Bureau of Arms Control,
Stephen G. Rademaker, was made head of the new bureau.
The Executive Branch and the
U.S. Congress have
constitutional responsibilities for U.S. foreign policy. Within the Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, and its head, the Secretary of State, is the President's principal foreign policy adviser, though other officials or individuals may have more influence on his foreign policy decisions. The Department advances U.S. objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the President's foreign policy. The Department also supports the
foreign affairs activities of other U.S. Government entities including the
United States Department of Commerce and the
U.S. Agency for International Development. It also provides an array of important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to the U.S.
All foreign affairs activities - U.S. representation abroad, foreign assistance programs, countering international crime, foreign military training programs, the services the Department provides, and more - are paid for by the foreign affairs budget, which represents little more than 1% of the total federal budget, or about 12 cents a day for each American citizen. As stated by the Department of State, its purpose includes:
* Protecting and assisting U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad;
* Assisting U.S.
businesses in the international marketplace;
* Coordinating and providing support for international activities of other U.S. agencies (local, state, or federal government), official visits overseas and at home, and other diplomatic efforts.
* Keeping the public informed about U.S. foreign policy and relations with other countries and providing feedback from the public to administration officials.
* Provides
automobile registration for non-diplomatic staff vehicles and the vehicles of diplomats of foreign countries having
diplomatic immunity in the United States.
The Department of State conducts these activities with a workforce of Civil Servants. The Foreign Service personnel system, which is part of the
Excepted Service, is frequently used for positions requiring service abroad. Overseas, members of the
Diplomatic Service, including officers, specialists and other diplomatic personnel represent America; analyze and report on political, economic, and social trends in the host country; and respond to the needs of American citizens abroad. The U.S. maintains diplomatic relations with about 180 countries and also maintains relations with many international organizations, adding up to a total of more than 250 posts around the world. In the United States, about 5,000
professional, technical, and administrative domestic employees work alongside members of the Diplomatic Service compiling and analyzing reports from overseas, providing logistical support to posts, consulting with and keeping the Congress informed about foreign policy initiatives and policies, communicating with the American public, formulating and overseeing the budget, issuing passports and travel warnings, and more.
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This chart from the U.S. Department of State website displays the hierarchy of the agency. Click the image to enlarge. |
*
Bureau of Administration**
Office of Allowances**
Office of Authentication**
Language Services**
Office of Logistics Management**
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization**
Office of Overseas Schools**
Office of Multi-Media Services**
Office of Directives Management**
Office of Commissary and Recreation Affairs**
Office of the Procurement Executive*
Bureau of African Affairs*
Bureau of Consular Affairs*
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor*
Bureau of Diplomatic Security**
Office of Foreign Missions*
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs*
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs*
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs**
Internet Access and Training Program*
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs*
Bureau of Human Resources*
Bureau of Information Resource Management*
Bureau of Intelligence and Research*
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs*
Bureau of International Organization Affairs*
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation*
Bureau of Legislative Affairs*
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs*
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs*
Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations*
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs*
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration*
Bureau of Public Affairs*
Bureau of Resource Management*
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs*
Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation*
Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs*
Executive Secretariat*
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (which produces the
Patterns of Global Terrorism report)
*
National Foreign Affairs Training Center (former Foreign Service Institute)
*
Office of International Information Programs*
Office of the Legal Adviser*
Office of Management Policy*
Office of Protocol*
Office of the Science and Technology Adviser*
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons*
Office of War Crimes Issues*
United States Department of State website*
History of the U.S. Department of State
