Foreign Secretary (Persia)

Nation
 Reports To
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 First Holder

The **Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs** (Persian: **وزیر امور خارجه**), also simply known as the **Foreign Secretary** or **Foreign Affairs Minister**, is a senior cabinet minister within the Persian government and is the head of the powerful Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The position is considered one of the most prestigious appointments within the Persian government and is normally given to a respected or senior politician of the ruling coalition.

As head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign secretary is responsible for the coordination and execution of the foreign policy of the Persian government. Due to the importance of foreign policy, the foreign secretary works closely with both the president and their prime minister to develop policies to advance the national interests of the Persian state. The secretary of state for foreign affairs is also a plenipotentiary of the government and is thus able to take part in international summits, bilateral meetings, and treaty negotiations on behalf of the president. The foreign secretary is also responsible for the work of Persian diplomats in embassies across the world and has oversight over various foreign intelligence agencies associated with the Persian government. The foreign secretary is accountable to both the prime minister and to congress, and is expected to inform congress of the actions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through legislative questioning, select committees, and the regular publication of written statements.

Similarly to all government ministers, the secretary of state for foreign affairs is appointed by the president at the recommendation of the prime minister, though the president retains the power to reject a recommendation. The incumbent officeholder must either be a sitting member of the National Peoples Congress of the Republic of Persia or a serving member of the armed forces in order to hold office, but is not subject to any term limits for their position. Instead, they serve at the pleasure of the president, who has the power to dismiss the secretary of state for foreign affairs at any given point; however, congress can vote to overturn the dismissal with a two thirds majority vote. Similarly, the National People's Congress also has the power to remove the foreign secretary from office with a simple majority vote, but the president can veto any such resolution. Like most other cabinet ministers, the secretary of state for foreign affairs is bound by departmental responsibility; this means that any failures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are automatically considered to be failures of the incumbent minister, who is consequently expected to offer their resignation to either the president or the prime minister.

Since the office's establishment in April 2018, there have been four people to hold the position across twelve ministries. In addition to this, Xiao Chen briefly served as acting foreign secretary for 174 days between November 2035 and May 2036 in her capacity as the foreign affairs leader of the Shanghai Pact's intergovernmental Coordination Council. Following the Hǔnluàn takeover of Persia in April 2020, the office of foreign secretary was abolished by the unrecognised Emirate of Persia, though the Provisional Government of Persia in Exile (PGPE) retained the office; as such, Omar Razzaz served as the internationally recognised foreign secretary of Persia on a provisional basis between April 2020 and September 2021 as a representative of the PGPE until the formation of the Docu Ministry on September 1, 2021. At eight years and one hundred and fifty two days across two permanent terms and one acting term, Omar Razzaz's total tenure as foreign secretary is the longest on record, whilst Fayez al-Sarraj was the shortest serving permanent officeholder at three years year and one hundred and seventy one days.