United States Department of State

The **United States Department of State** (**DOS**), or simply the **State Department**, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations. The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym.

Established in 1789 as the first administrative arm of the U.S. executive branch, the State Department is considered among the most powerful and prestigious executive agencies. It is headed by the U.S. secretary of state, who reports directly to the U.S. president and is a member of the Cabinet. Analogous to a foreign minister, the secretary of state serves as the federal government's chief diplomat and representative abroad, and is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession. The position is currently held by Antony Blinken, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 26, 2021, by a vote of 78–22.

As of 2019, the State Department maintains 273 diplomatic posts worldwide, second only to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. It also manages the U.S. Foreign Service, provides diplomatic training to U.S. officials and military personnel, exercises partial jurisdiction over immigration, and provides various services to Americans, such as issuing passports and visas, posting foreign travel advisories, and advancing commercial ties abroad. The department administers the oldest U.S. civilian intelligence agency, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and maintains a law enforcement arm, the Diplomatic Security Service.

## Duties and Responsibilities

The Executive Branch and the Congress have constitutional responsibilities for US foreign policy. Within the Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead US foreign affairs agency, and its head, the secretary of state, is the president's principal foreign policy advisor. The department advances US objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the president's foreign policy. It also provides an array of important services to US citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to the United States.

All foreign affairs activities—US representation abroad, foreign assistance programs, countering international crime, foreign military training programs, the services the department provides, and more—are paid for out of the foreign affairs budget, which represents little more than 1% of the total federal budget.

The department's core activities and purpose include:

* Protecting and assisting US citizens living or traveling abroad;
* Assisting American businesses in the international marketplace;
* Coordinating and providing support for international activities of other US agencies (local, state, or federal government), official visits overseas and at home, and other diplomatic efforts.
* Keeping the public informed about US foreign policy and relations with other countries and providing feedback from the public to administration officials.
* Providing 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 civilian workforce, and normally uses the Foreign Service personnel system for positions that require service abroad. Employees may be assigned to diplomatic missions abroad to represent the United States, analyze and report on political, economic, and social trends; adjudicate visas; and respond to the needs of US citizens abroad.

The US maintains diplomatic relations with about 180 countries and maintains relations with many international organizations, adding up to 273 posts around the world. In the United States, about 5,000 professional, technical, and administrative employees work compiling and analyzing reports from overseas, providing logistical support to posts, communicating with the American public, formulating and overseeing the budget, issuing passports and travel warnings, and more. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Department of State works in close coordination with other federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, Treasury, and Commerce. The department also consults with Congress about foreign policy initiatives and policies.

## Headquarters

From 1790 to 1800, the State Department was headquartered in Philadelphia, the national capital at the time. It occupied a building at Church and Fifth Street. In 1800, it moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., where it briefly occupied the Treasury Building and then the Seven Buildings at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

The State Department moved several times throughout the capital in the ensuing decades, including six buildings in September 1800; the War Office Building west of the White House the following May; the Treasury Building once more from September 1819 to November 1866; the Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to July 1875; and the State, War, and Navy Building in 1875.

Since May 1947, the State Department has been based in the Harry S. Truman Building, which originally was intended to house the Department of Defense; it has since undergone several expansions and renovations, most recently in 2016. Previously known as the "Main State Building"*,* in September 2000 it was renamed in honor of President Harry S. Truman, who was a major proponent of internationalism and diplomacy.

As the DOS is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, it is sometimes metonymically referred to as "Foggy Bottom".