How much does the Secretary Of State make? The Secretary of State is the President's chief foreign affairs adviser and the highest ranking appointed official in the executive branch. Hillary Clinton, the current Secretary, was sworn in on January 21, 2009 as the 67th Secretary of State of the United States. She is fourth in the Presidential succession line. Secretaries are considered the highest expert in the country on foreign policy and in most cases have a foreign relations or military background. But how much does the Secretary of State make per year in salary?
Secretary of State Salary/ Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Secretary Of State Clinton's annual salary is $186,600. That makes her the fourth highest paid government official in the United States behind the President ($400,000), the Vice President ($225,551) and Secretary of Treasury ($191,300). Clinton's salary is actually $5000 less than what her predecessor Condoleeza Rice earned due to an obscure Constitutional rule. The salary had to be lowered because Mrs. Clinton was serving in Congress when the Secretary Of State's salary was raised during the previous administration. The US constitution states that no Congress member can be appointed to a position which had it's salary increased during the candidates current term. The House of Representatives and Senate were forced to lower the salary to the original $186,600 pay scale. Even at this lower rate, Mrs Clinton's Secretary Of State salary is more money than her Senate salary.
Secretary Of State Job Duties:
- Advises the President on the appointment of U.S. ambassadors, ministers, consuls, and other diplomatic representatives
- Grants and issues passports to American citizens and exequaturs to foreign consuls in the United States
- Supervises the administration of U.S. immigration laws abroad
- Personally participates in or directs U.S. representatives to international conferences, organizations, and agencies
- Serves as the President's principal adviser on U.S. foreign policy
- Conducts negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs
- Negotiates, interprets, and terminates treaties and agreements
- Advises the President regarding the acceptance, recall, and dismissal of the representatives of foreign governments
- Ensures the protection of the U.S. Government to American citizens, property, and interests in foreign countries
- Provides information to American citizens regarding the political, economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian conditions in foreign countries
- Informs the Congress and American citizens on the conduct of U.S. foreign relations
- Promotes beneficial economic intercourse between the United States and other countries
