The United States Department of State, the federal government's foreign affairs department and the administrative department of some domestic affairs, is directly administered by the U.S. government's foreign affairs agency, equivalent to the Department of Foreign Affairs, whose executive head is the Secretary of State. The U.S. State Department is one of the largest government agencies in the United States, located in Washington, D.C. The current Secretary of State is John Forbes Kerry. The U.S. State Department was established on July 27, 1789, and was reorganized by the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs in September 1789, occupying the chief position among government departments.
Institutional functions