The Chief Clerk, between 1789 and 1853, was the second-ranking official within the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, known as the Department of Foreign Affairs before September 5, 1789. Section 2 of the

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

of July 27, 1789 (1 Stat. 28) establishing a Department of Foreign Affairs, authorized the

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

to appoint a Chief Clerk, who would have custody of the Department's records whenever the office of the Secretary should be vacant. From 1789 to 1853, when Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary of State, the Chief Clerk was the second-ranking officer of the Department of State, and was responsible for supervision of Department personnel, distribution of correspondence, and day-to-day operations. All Chief Clerks were designated, not commissioned. After 1853, the Chief Clerk's duties included at various times custody of archives, distribution of correspondence, and supervision of Department personnel and property. The office was abolished on January 26, 1939, re-established August 6, 1942, as the Office of the Chief Clerk and Administrative Assistant, and abolished in the reorganization of January 15, 1944. Although the Chief Clerk was the second-ranking officer until 1853, the holder of the office of Chief Clerk did not always become Acting Secretary of State in the Secretary's absence, and sometimes that position was delegated to other Cabinet members.

List of Chief Clerks

All Chief Clerks were non-career appointees.

References

* Chief Clerk Defunct agencies of the United States government Chief Clerks of the United States Department of State {{US-gov-stub ja:アメリカ合衆国国務省首席事務官