Secretary of State 
noun
1(In the UK) the head of a major government department: the Secretary of State for Defence...
- The Claimant in this claim for judicial review is the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
- It is the Secretary of State's policy that the power to sanction should not be exercised too widely.
- Copies are also being sent to Bexley Council and the Secretary of State for Transport.
2(In the US) the head of the State Department, responsible for foreign affairs.Henry Kissinger ran foreign policy under President Nixon, not Secretary of State Rogers....
- Then U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright visited Pyongyang in response to Cho's trip to Washington.
- That includes his Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who has been presented as a restraining influence on Bush.
3(In Canada) a government minister responsible for a specific area within a department.That position has been verified by statements in the House of Commons by Secretary of State for External Affairs Joe Clark.