Secretary of State

The Secretary of State ( Spanish: Secretario de Estado ) in the federal government of Argentina is a high-ranking official who is equal in rank to the minister and is responsible directly to the president . This post should not be confused with the lower post of “secretary”, who reports to the minister.

As in France, the state secretary in Belgium is the junior minister who reports to the minister or prime minister .

Sometimes the title of cardinal - Secretary of State of the Holy See is called in Russian "the State Secretary of the Vatican", and the agency he heads is called the "State Secretariat of the Vatican", respectively.

In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State is the official title of some cabinet ministers responsible for a government agency. Less commonly, this term translates as " Secretary of State ." Further, not all departments are headed by state secretaries (for example, the ministry of finance is headed by the chancellor of the treasury).

Theoretically, there is only one post of state secretary, and legislation generally only mentions a “state secretary”. In practice, there are a number of state secretaries, each of which can perform the functions of state secretary, and formally titled "Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for ..." . These posts can be created without first changing the law.

There are also deputy or assistant minister posts that are literally called “ Under Secretary of State Assistant” and “Permanent Under Secretary of State ” Assistant Secretary of State .

In Hungary, the state secretary is the head of a state body subordinate to the government.

In the Hungarian People’s Republic , for example, the heads of the Hungarian National Bank and the Central Statistical Office were called. The secretaries of state were not members of the Council of Ministers.

In the German Empire (1871-1918), the state secretary is the imperial minister directly subordinate to the Reich Chancellor.

In the Third Reich, the Secretary of State was an official in the rank of First Deputy Reich Minister.

In the German Democratic Republic, a state secretary is an official in the rank of first deputy minister or head of a special government agency (secretariat).

Federal Republic of Germany

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the state secretary ( German Staatssekretär , state secretary) is the highest official in the apparatus of the ministry or department, who is second only to the minister and is his closest assistant. The post of state secretary is similar to the post of deputy minister in other countries. This is a political post, that is, the appointment to it is made on the basis of political criteria, such as party affiliation, and not in the order of increasing civil servants, although the state secretary is the administrative head of the ministry.

A special case is a parliamentary state secretary ( German: Parlamentarische Staatssekretär ), who is a member of parliament appointed by the ministry as state secretary. His responsibilities include maintaining relations between the ministry and parliament, its factions and committees.

The Secretary of State ( Spanish: Secretario de Estado ) is the junior minister in Spain . Each ministry may have several state secretaries. So, for example, the Secretary of State for Latin America works in submission to the Minister of Foreign Affairs .

In the cabinet of Canada, there was a position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ( Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ), which corresponded to the usual Minister of Foreign Affairs, but in 1993 it was abolished and a position was created in its place Minister of Foreign Affairs .

From 1867 to 1993, there was also the position of Secretary of State for Canada ( Secretary of State for Canada , Secretary of State for Canada ), who was the cabinet minister. His duties changed over time, however, he was responsible for the Department of Secretary of State until this position was abolished. In addition, from 1867 to 1873, there was a post of state secretary for provincial affairs ( Secretary of State for the Provinces ), who was also the cabinet minister and was responsible for liaising the federal government with the provincial governments of Canada.

Since 1993, some of the junior ministers who are appointed to manage certain areas of public policy to help the Cabinet of Ministers have become known as Secretary of State . They play a role similar to state ministers , but unlike the latter, they themselves are not members of the Cabinet.

In Luxembourg, state secretaries ( Fr. secrétaire d'Etat , Luxemburg. Staatssekretär (in) , German Staatssekretär (in) ) are called cabinet members below the rank of ministers. The state secretary is responsible for the same field of activity as the minister and helps the corresponding minister to carry out his functions. He often takes charge of more than one area or helps more than one minister.

In the Netherlands, the state secretary ( Dutch staatssecretaris, pl. Staatssecretarissen ) is an assistant or deputy minister or junior minister. State secretaries are cabinet ministers who work under the authority of ministers. They are accountable to ministers, but regardless of this they are accountable to parliament. The state secretary takes the portfolio of the minister. Some state secretaries have clearly defined portfolios of authority (for example, culture, science and the environment), while others coincide with the portfolios of their ministers. The state secretary almost always has a different political affiliation than his minister. State secretaries are not present at weekly cabinet meetings unless they are specifically invited.

The state secretary ( Norwegian statssekretær ) in Norway is assigned to a certain ministry and is actually the deputy minister .

In Portugal, the term “Secretary of State” (“Secretary of State,” port of Secretário de Estado , plural: Secretários de Estado , p.: Secretária de Estado ) has been used to refer to heads of government since the 17th century. In the 19th century, the term “minister” ( port. Ministro ) began to be used instead. At the same time, junior government ministers were still called junior secretaries of state ( port. Subsecretário de Estado ). Despite being uncommon, it was only in 1958 that the term “state secretary” acquired a different formal meaning than “minister” (in the sense of cabinet minister). Since then, state secretaries are junior ministers and report to the cabinet.

Russian Empire

In the Russian Empire , several different types of posts were called state secretaries.

The State Secretary ( State Secretary of His Majesty ) was originally the personal secretary (rapporteur) of the emperor (empress) in the 18th - early 19th centuries (see the article Cabinet Secretary ). Since the XIX century - the honorary title of the highest civilian dignitaries, who complained only "at the highest discretion." The title of state secretary gave the right to a personal report to the emperor and the announcement of his verbal commands (official name: “ verbal highest commands ”). For comparison: of the military officials of the retinues of His Majesty, this right was granted only to the duty adjutant generals .

According to the law of 1842, state secretaries "took places" above all civil ranks of the same class as them, in particular "above secret advisers, even senators." The title of state secretary was given to trusted ministers, distinguishing them immediately from among all the others. Much less frequently, this title was received by the comrades of ministers, directors of departments, and only in exceptional cases, persons holding smaller posts. All cases of this kind were usually noticed by contemporaries, and they were attached great importance ^[1] .

In 1872, a special badge was established for the state secretaries of His Majesty. By January 1, 1900, all state secretaries numbered 27 people.

State Secretary of the State Council - the position of the head of a branch of the State Chancellery , that is, the chancellery of the State Council . The exception was the archive department, which was managed by the assistant secretary of state as secretary of state. Initially, when the State Council was established in 1810, a special state secretary was at his place to accept petitions to the highest name.

The state secretaries had a certain number of assistants. State secretaries and their assistants were appointed and fired by decrees for their own highest signature. Prior to the reform of 1906, state secretaries prepared reports for the departments of the State Council and reported on these cases. At the general meeting of the State Council, state secretaries or their assistants read the cases assigned to the report by order of the Secretary of State .

Assistants of state secretaries in departments prepared extracts from files and notes, collected additional information, reported cases in departments by order of state secretaries, and in the general meeting as appointed by the Secretary of State. They drafted resolutions , presenting them for further consideration by the state secretaries, drafted case reports, their responsibility included general monitoring of the order of affairs in the part entrusted to each of them by the state secretary.

State Secretary for Finland

State Secretary for Finland (Minister of State for the Grand Duchy of Finland) - an official who headed the administration of Finland during its entry into the Russian Empire. The place of his permanent stay was St. Petersburg .

Russian Federation

In the Russian Federation, the state secretary is the deputy minister in the federal ministry who is responsible for relations with the Federal Assembly and other state bodies and public organizations.

In Slovakia, there is the position of Secretary of State (State Secretary, Slovak. Štátný tajomník ), which is similar to the position of Deputy Minister .

Some ministers in the United States of America are officially called in English Secretary (literally - “secretary”, for example, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Defense ), and sometimes this title has been translated and is translated into Russian as “state secretary”. Usually, all these names are translated as “minister,” with the exception of the Secretary of State . There may be ambiguity in the translation of the naming of the post of Deputy or Assistant Minister ( Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretary ).

State Secretary ( Finnish. Valtiosihteeri ) is the highest official subordinate to each Minister of the State Council of Finland . Each state secretary is appointed for the term of office of the minister and is accountable to the minister.

When Finland became part of the Russian Empire, the Secretary of State for Finnish Affairs was a special post in the imperial government in St. Petersburg (see the “Russia” section in this article).

Archival Fund of the State Secretariat of the Grand Duchy of Finland (inaccessible link)

In modern France, the state secretary ( French Secretaire d'Etat ) is the official title of the head of an agency (junior minister) under the Prime Minister in France . The state secretary is below the state minister and reports to the minister or prime minister.

In the history of France - in the era of absolute monarchy - state secretaries were officials of the crown , whose functions were similar to those of today's government ministers.

In the Swiss Federal Administration, state secretaries (singular German Staatssekretär, Staatssekretärin ) are the oldest of the professional civil servants. This title is conferred by the Swiss Federal Council to the heads of federal agencies whose responsibilities include independent interaction with senior foreign officials ^[2] . In practice, the functions of the Secretary of State are the same as in France .

Each cabinet minister in the Swedish government has a state secretary ( Swede. Statssekreterare ), who is his closest assistant. Some particularly important ministers have several state secretaries.

• Day of Professional Administrative Workers (Secretary's Day).