From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishSecretary of StateˌSecretary of ˈState noun (plural Secretaries of State) [countable] 1 (also Secretary) the head of an important department in the British government the Secretary of State for Transport2 the head of the US government department that deals with the US’s relations with other countries
Examples from the Corpus
Secretary of State• Is the Secretary of State required by law to adopt the judicial view of the tariff?• However, its appearance in June 1975 did not immediately bring about any action on the part of the Secretary of State.• Those terms of reference seem to suit the Secretary of State down to the ground.• What advice would the Secretary of State offer that young lady, apart from consulting the job seekers charter? 