State, Secretary of
State, Secretary of
in a number of states of Europe and the Americas, the title of high national officials. For example, in the USA the secretary of state is the head of the Department of State; he is appointed by the president and is one of his closest aides. In Great Britain, secretary of state is a title given to the heads of several ministries, including the Home Office, the Ministry for Defense, and the Ministry for Scotland. In Belgium, secretaries of state are actually deputy ministers. In Yugoslavia, under the 1963 Constitution, secretaries of state are the heads of the state secretariats for foreign affairs and for national defense.