The State Department, formally the United States Department of State, is the lead foreign affairs agency of the U.S. federal government. Established in 1789 as the Department of Foreign Affairs and renamed later that year, it is the oldest executive department and is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building in Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood.
The department is headed by the Secretary of State, a cabinet-level official who serves as the President's principal foreign policy advisor and ranks fourth in the presidential line of succession. Its core functions include:
- Conducting bilateral and multilateral diplomacy
- Negotiating treaties and executive agreements
- Operating U.S. embassies, consulates, and missions abroad
- Issuing passports and visas through the Bureau of Consular Affairs
- Managing foreign assistance programs in coordination with USAID
- Representing the U.S. at the United Nations and other international organizations
The department is organized into regional bureaus (e.g., Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs) and functional bureaus (e.g., Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Bureau of International Organization Affairs). The career diplomatic corps is staffed by Foreign Service Officers (FSOs), recruited through the Foreign Service Officer Test, alongside Civil Service employees and locally engaged staff at posts overseas.
Day-to-day diplomatic tradecraft conducted by the department includes drafting diplomatic cables, issuing démarches, conducting public diplomacy, and producing the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and the Trafficking in Persons Report. The Secretary also issues Foreign Terrorist Organization designations under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The State Department often coordinates—and sometimes competes—with the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and the Treasury (particularly OFAC) in shaping and executing U.S. foreign policy.
Example
In 2015, the State Department under Secretary John Kerry led U.S. negotiations on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran alongside the other P5+1 powers.