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United States Department of State
USINFO | 2013-10-29 11:58
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| Seal of the U.S. Department of State | |
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| Flag of the U.S. Department of State | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | July 27, 1789 (224 years ago) |
| Preceding Agency | Department of Foreign Affairs |
| Headquarters |
Harry S Truman Building 2201 C Street, NW Washington, D.C., United States 38°53′39″N 77°2′54″W |
| Employees |
11,500 Foreign Service employees 7,400 Civil Service employees 31,000 Foreign Service National employees[1] |
| Annual budget | $57.533 Billion (FY 2012)[2] |
| Agency executives |
John Kerry, Secretary of State William Joseph Burns, Deputy Secretary Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary |
| Website | |
| state.gov | |
The United States Department of State (DoS),[3] often referred to as the State Department, is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign minister of other countries. The Department was created in 1789 and was the first executive department established.
The Department operates the diplomatic missions of the United States abroad and is responsible for implementing the foreign policy of the United States and U.S. diplomacy efforts. The Department is also the depositaryfor more than 200 multilateral treaties.
The Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of State is John Kerry. The Secretary of State is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession.
