does anyone know why the u.s. calls its foreign minister the "secretary of state"? i understand that all the members of the cabinet are called "secretary", but why "state" instead of "foreign affairs" or "foreign relations."
it seems like a complete misnomer to me. "state", if anything, implies something internal and domestic, not foreign. and the "secretary of state" of individual states (pennsylvania, illinois, etc) tend to deal with issues that are "domestic" to the state, like issuing drivers' licenses, registering corporations, et cetera. you'd think the federal level "secretary of state" would be the federal equivalent to the state job, but instead it's completely different.
and yeah, i read the history section of the wiki entry. it doesn't fully answer my question. apparently the position used to be called "secretary of foreign affairs", but then it was changed to "secretary of state" when the job got some domestic responsibilities. the entry doesn't explain what those responsibilities were, only that they were "transferred to other agencies." why didn't they change the name back when those domestic duties went away?
