Secretary

the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate.

Defined by the Supreme Court in United States v. National Bank of Commerce, 472 U.S. 713 (1985).

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An officer who, by order of his superior, writes letters and other instruments. He is so called because he is possessed of the seci'ets of his employer. This term was used in France in 1343, and in England the term secretary was first applied to the clerks of the king, who being always near his person were called clerks of the secret, and in the reign of Henry VIII. the term secretary of state came into use. In the United States the term is used to denote the head of a department: as, secretary of state, etc. See Department; Cabinet.

The secretary of a corporation or association is an officer charged with the direction and management of that part of the business of the company which is concerned with keeping the records, the official correspondence, with giving and receiving notices, countersigning documents, etc. The name "secretary" is also given to several of the heads of executive departments in the government of the United States; as the "Secretary of War," "Secretary of the Interior," etc. It is also the style of some of the members of the English cabinet; as the "Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs." There are also secretaries of embassies and legations.

— Secretary of decrees and injunctions. An officer of the English court or chancery. The office was abolished by St. 15 & 16 Viet, c. 87, § 23.

— Secretary of embassy. A diplomatic officer appointed as secretary or assistant to an ambassador or minister plenipotentiary.

— Secretary of legation. An officer employed to attend a foreign mission and to perform certain duties as clerk.

— Secretary of state. In American law. This is the tide of the chief of the executive bureau of the United States called the "Department of State." He is a member of the cabinet, and is charged with the general administration of the international and diplomatic affairs of the government. In many of the state governments there is an executive officer bearing the same title and exercising important functions. In English iaw. The secretaries of state are cabinet ministers attending the sovereign for the receipt and dispatch of letters, grants, petitions, and many ot the most important affairs of the kingdom, both foreign and domestic. There are five principal secretaries,—one for the home department, another for foreign affaire, a third for the colonies, a fourth for war, and a fifth for India. Wharton.

See Agent: Department; Desceiptio; Directors.

A title of one intrusted with business involving writing as a chief element. Five of the heads of departments in the United States government have the title of secretary; viz., the secretaries of state, of war, of the treasury, of the navy, and of the interior; so do several of the cabinet officers in England; and in most of the states of the Union there is a secretary of state.