# Secretary of State of New York

The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS).
The current secretary of state of New York is Walter T. Mosley, a Democrat.

## Duties

The secretary is responsible for the regulation of a number of businesses and professions, including private investigators, cosmetologists, real estate brokers, appraisers, and notaries public. The secretary also regulates cemeteries, registers corporations and business organizations, and maintains business records under the Uniform Commercial Code and other laws. The New York State Athletic Commission is vested within the department and regulates combat sports such as boxing and professional wrestling occurring within the state.
The secretary's office includes the Office of Local Government Services, which provides training assistance to local governments in areas such as fire prevention, coastal management, and code enforcement.
The secretary of state is responsible for publishing local laws on their website and as a supplement to the Laws of New York. They are also responsible for publishing on their website a complete codification of all local laws in effect that have been adopted by the legislative body of each county.

## History

The office of the secretary of state of New York was established in 1778, and is one of the oldest government agencies of the state of New York.
Until 1822, the secretary of state was appointed by the Council of Appointment for an indefinite term, but could be substituted at any time, especially if the majority party in the council changed. Besides his other duties, the secretary of state was also the secretary of the Council of Appointment.
From 1823 to 1845, the secretary was elected by joint ballot of the New York State Legislature for a term of three years.
From 1847 on, the secretary and the other state cabinet officers were elected by the voters at the state elections in November in odd years to a two-year term, so that, until 1877, they served in the second half of the term of the governor in office and the first half of the term of the succeeding governor, since the governors at the time were elected to a two-year term in even years. From 1877 on, the governor served a three-year term, while the secretary continued to be elected for two years.
The secretary elected in 1895 received an additional year and served a three-year term, and from 1898 on, the secretary and other state officers were elected in even years to a two-year term at the same time as the governor, and they served concurrently.
In 1926, during the governorship of Al Smith, the state administration was reorganized, and the office became appointive and has remained so. The last secretary elected was Florence E. S. Knapp; the first appointed by the governor was Robert Moses.
On March 31, 2011, Part A of Chapter 62 of the Laws of 2011 merged the former New York State Consumer Protection Board into the Department of State creating a new Division of Consumer Protection.

## List of secretaries of state

| # | Secretary of State | Tenure | Party | Notes |
| 1 | John Morin Scott | March 13, 1778 – September 14, 1784 | | died in office |
| 2 | Lewis Allaire Scott | October 23, 1784 – March 17, 1798 | – | son of John Morin Scott; died in office; longest-serving Secretary of State (13 years and almost 5 months) |
| 3 | Daniel Hale | March 24, 1798 – August 10, 1801 | Federalist | |
| 4 | Thomas Tillotson | August 10, 1801 – March 16, 1806 | Democratic-Republican | |
| 5 | Elisha Jenkins | March 16, 1806 – February 16, 1807 | Democratic-Republican | |
| 6 | Thomas Tillotson | February 16, 1807 – February 1, 1808 | Dem.-Rep./Lewisite | |
| 7 | Elisha Jenkins | February 1, 1808 – February 2, 1810 | Dem.-Rep./Clintonian | |
| 8 | Daniel Hale | February 2, 1810 – February 1, 1811 | Federalist | |
| 9 | Elisha Jenkins | February 1, 1811 – February 23, 1813 | Democratic-Republican | |
| 10 | Jacob R. Van Rensselaer | February 23, 1813 – February 16, 1815 | Federalist | |
| 11 | Peter Buell Porter | February 16, 1815 – February 12, 1816 | Democratic-Republican | |
| 12 | Robert L. Tillotson | February 12, 1816 – April 16, 1817 | | son of Thomas Tillotson |
| 13 | Charles D. Cooper | April 16, 1817 – April 24, 1818 | Democratic-Republican | son-in-law of Acting Governor John Tayler |
| 14 | John Van Ness Yates | April 24, 1818 – February 14, 1826 | Democratic-Republican | first appointed, in 1823 re-elected by the State Legislature |
| 15 | Azariah Cutting Flagg | February 14, 1826 – January 12, 1833 | Democratic-Republican | three terms; then elected New York State Comptroller |
| 16 | John Adams Dix | January 15, 1833 – February 4, 1839 | Democratic | two terms |
| 17 | John Canfield Spencer | February 4, 1839 – October 11, 1841 | Whig | resigned to become Secretary of War |
| 18 | Archibald Campbell (acting) | October 11, 1841 – February 7, 1842 | (none) | as Deputy Secretary, acted until the election of a successor |
| 19 | Samuel Young | February 7, 1842 – February 8, 1845 | Dem./Barnburner | |
| 20 | Nathaniel S. Benton | February 8, 1845 – December 31, 1847 | Dem./Hunker | legislated out of office by State Constitution of 1846 |
| 21 | Christopher Morgan | January 1, 1848 – December 31, 1851 | Whig | first Secretary elected by general ballot; two terms |
| 22 | Henry S. Randall | January 1, 1852 – December 31, 1853 | Democratic | |
| 23 | Elias W. Leavenworth | January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1855 | Whig | |
| 24 | Joel T. Headley | January 1, 1856 – December 31, 1857 | American | |
| 25 | Gideon J. Tucker | January 1, 1858 – December 31, 1859 | Democratic | |
| 26 | David R. Floyd-Jones | January 1, 1860 – December 31, 1861 | Democratic | |
| 27 | Horatio Ballard | January 1, 1862 – December 31, 1863 | Union | |
| 28 | Chauncey Depew | January 1, 1864 – December 31, 1865 | Union | |
| 29 | Francis C. Barlow | January 1, 1866 – December 31, 1867 | Republican | |
| 30 | Homer A. Nelson | January 1, 1868 – December 31, 1871 | Democratic | two terms |
| 31 | G. Hilton Scribner | January 1, 1872 – December 31, 1873 | Republican | |
| 32 | Diedrich Willers, Jr. | January 1, 1874 – December 31, 1875 | Democratic | |
| 33 | John Bigelow | January 1, 1876 – December 31, 1877 | Democratic | |
| 34 | Allen C. Beach | January 1, 1878 – December 31, 1879 | Democratic | |
| 35 | Joseph B. Carr | January 1, 1880 – December 31, 1885 | Republican | three terms |
| 36 | Frederick Cook | January 1, 1886 – December 31, 1889 | Democratic | two terms |
| 37 | Frank Rice | January 1, 1890 – December 31, 1893 | Democratic | |
| 38 | John Palmer | January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1898 | Republican | two terms (1894–1895, 1896–98) |
| 39 | John T. McDonough | January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1902 | Republican | two terms |
| 40 | John F. O'Brien | January 1, 1903 – December 31, 1906 | Republican | two terms |
| 41 | John S. Whalen | January 1, 1907 – December 31, 1908 | Dem./Ind. L. | |
| 42 | Samuel S. Koenig | January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1910 | Republican | |
| 43 | Edward Lazansky | January 1, 1911 – December 31, 1912 | Democratic | |
| 44 | Mitchell May | January 1, 1913 – December 31, 1914 | Democratic | |
| 45 | Francis Hugo | January 1, 1915 – December 31, 1920 | Republican | three terms |
| 46 | John J. Lyons | January 1, 1921 – December 31, 1922 | Republican | |
| 47 | James A. Hamilton | January 1, 1923 – December 31, 1924 | Democratic | |
| 48 | Florence E. S. Knapp | January 1, 1925 – January 17, 1927 | Republican | first woman in this office; the last elected Secretary of State |
| 49 | Robert Moses | January 17, 1927 – January 1, 1929 | Republican | first Secretary of State appointed by the Governor |
| 50 | Edward J. Flynn | January 1, 1929 – January 17, 1939 | Democratic | |
| 51 | Michael F. Walsh | January 17, 1939 – January 1, 1943 | Democratic | |
| 52 | Thomas J. Curran | January 1, 1943 – January 1, 1955 | Republican | |
| 53 | Carmine DeSapio | January 1, 1955 – January 1, 1959 | Democratic | |
| 54 | Caroline K. Simon | January 1, 1959 – August 22, 1963 | Republican | appointed a judge of the New York Court of Claims |
| 55 | John P. Lomenzo | August 22, 1963 – January 1, 1974 | Republican | |
| 56 | John J. Ghezzi | January 1, 1974 – January 1, 1975 | Republican | |
| 57 | Mario Cuomo | January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1978 | Democratic | elected Lieutenant Governor |
| 58 | Basil A. Paterson | January 1, 1979 – January 1, 1983 | Democratic | son David A. Paterson became Lieutenant Governor, and Governor. |
| 59 | Gail S. Shaffer | January 1, 1983 – January 4, 1995 | Democratic | |
| 60 | Alexander Treadwell | January 4, 1995 – April 12, 2001 | Republican | became Chairman of the Republican State Committee |
| 61 | Randy Daniels | April 12, 2001 – September 23, 2005 | Republican | a Democrat when appointed, became a Republican in 2002; resigned |
| – | Frank Milano (acting) | September 23, 2005 – April 19, 2006 | Republican | as First Deputy Secretary, acted until the appointment of a successor |
| 62 | Christopher Jacobs | April 19, 2006 – January 1, 2007 | Republican | |
| 63 | Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez | January 1, 2007 – September 1, 2010 | Democratic | |
| 64 | Ruth Noemí Colón | September 1, 2010 – May 2, 2011 | Democratic | |
| 65 | Cesar A. Perales | May 2, 2011 – February 3, 2016 | Democratic | confirmed by State Senate on June 7, 2011 |
| 66 | Rossana Rosado | February 3, 2016 – November 4, 2021 | Democratic | confirmed by State Senate on June 16, 2016, became Commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Services |
| – | Brendan C. Hughes (acting) | November 4, 2021 – December 9, 2021 | Democratic | |
| 67 | Robert J. Rodriguez | December 9, 2021 – May 8, 2024 | Democratic | confirmed by State Senate on March 2, 2022, became president and CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York |
| – | Brendan C. Hughes (acting) | May 8, 2024 – May 22, 2024 | Democratic | |
| 68 | Walter T. Mosley | May 22, 2024 – present | Democratic | confirmed by State Senate on May 22, 2024 |