List of United States Secretaries of State by time in office

For a chronological list by dates of service, see List of Secretaries of State of the United States.

This is a list of United States Secretaries of State by time in office. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater.

Cordell Hull is the only person to have served as Secretary of State for more than 8 years. Daniel Webster and James G. Blaine are the only Secretaries of State to have ever served non-consecutive terms. Elihu B. Washburne served as Secretary of State for less than two weeks before becoming Ambassador to France.

# in
office		 Secretary Length of Service Rank
47 Cordell Hull &1000000000000001100000011 years, &10000000000000271000000271 days 1
54 Dean Rusk &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000365000000365 days[1] 2
24 William H. Seward &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000364000000364 days 3
8 John Quincy Adams &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000363000000363 days 4
26 Hamilton Fish &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000360000000360 days 5
5 James Madison &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000305000000305 days 6
37 John Hay &100000000000000060000006 years, &10000000000000274000000274 days 7
13 John Forsyth &100000000000000060000006 years, &10000000000000245000000245 days 8
60 George P. Shultz &100000000000000060000006 years, &10000000000000188000000188 days 9
52 John Foster Dulles &100000000000000060000006 years, &1000000000000009100000091 days 10
7 James Monroe 5 years, 184 days 11
42 Robert Lansing &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000234000000234 days 12
55 William P. Rogers &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000224000000224 days 13
14/19 Daniel Webster 4 years, 156 days 14
3 Timothy Pickering &100000000000000040000004 years, &10000000000000153000000153 days 15
45 Frank B. Kellogg &100000000000000040000004 years, &1000000000000002300000023 days 16
28/31 James G. Blaine 4 years, 10 days 17
65 Colin Powell &100000000000000040000004 years, &100000000000000060000006 days 18
51 Dean Acheson &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000365000000365 days[1] 19
21 William L. Marcy &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000364000000364 days 20
30 Thomas F. Bayard, Sr. &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000364000000364 days 21
40 Philander C. Knox &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000364000000364 days 21
44 Charles Evans Hughes &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000364000000364 days 21
63 Warren Christopher &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000363000000363 days 24
64 Madeleine Albright &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000363000000363 days 24
17 James Buchanan &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000362000000362 days 26
9 Henry Clay &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000361000000361 days 27
27 William M. Evarts &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000360000000360 days 28
66 Condoleezza Rice &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000360000000360 days 28
46 Henry L. Stimson &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000341000000341 days 30
1 Thomas Jefferson &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000284000000284 days 31
22 Lewis Cass &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000283000000283 days 32
61 James Baker &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000211000000211 days 33
38 Elihu Root &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000192000000192 days 34
56 Henry Kissinger &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000120000000120 days 35
57 Cyrus Vance &100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000009600000096 days 36
29 Frederick T. Frelinghuysen &100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000007700000077 days 37
67 Hillary Rodham Clinton &100000000000000030000003 years, &1000000000000005400000054 days 38
41 William Jennings Bryan &100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000009600000096 days 39
33 Walter Q. Gresham &100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000008200000082 days 40
10 Martin Van Buren &100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000005600000056 days 41
6 Robert Smith &100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000002600000026 days 42
11 Edward Livingston &100000000000000020000002 years, &100000000000000050000005 days 43
50 George Marshall &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000365000000365 days[1] 44
53 Christian Herter &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000273000000273 days 45
34 Richard Olney &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000268000000268 days 46
2 Edmund Randolph &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000230000000230 days 47
49 James F. Byrnes &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000202000000202 days 48
59 Alexander Haig &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000164000000164 days 49
18 John M. Clayton &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000136000000136 days 50
35 John Sherman &100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000005200000052 days 51
12 Louis McLane &100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000003200000032 days 52
43 Bainbridge Colby 346 days 53
16 John C. Calhoun 343 days 54
4 John Marshall &10000000000000264000000264 days 55
58 Edmund Muskie 257 days 56
32 John W. Foster 239 days 57
15 Abel P. Upshur 219 days 58
48 Edward Stettinius, Jr. 208 days 59
36 William R. Day 141 days 60
20 Edward Everett 117 days 61
23 Jeremiah S. Black 78 days 62
62 Lawrence Eagleburger 43 days 63
39 Robert Bacon 37 days 64
25 Elihu B. Washburne 11 days 65

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Due to a leap year during the tenure, 365 days was one day short of a full year of service

See also