From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishundersecretaryun‧der‧sec‧re‧ta‧ry /ˌʌndəˈsekrətəri $ ˈʌndərˌsekrəteri/ noun (plural undersecretaries) [countable] 1 PGOa very important official in a US government department who is one position in rank below the secretary2 a minister in a British government department, who is one position in rank below the minister who is in charge of that department3 PGOa government official who is in charge of the daily work of a British government department
Examples from the Corpus
undersecretary• He went to the Pentagon in 1969 as undersecretary and then secretary of the Navy in the Nixon and Ford administrations.• Oshima is the U.N. undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, who has been dispatched to look around.• These organizational units typically represent undersecretary commands.• Mr Fred Ikle, who was President Reagan's undersecretary of defence for policy, has always had his doubts.• Councils have been discussing the proposal since a meeting last year with transport undersecretary Patrick McLoughlin. 