Secretaries Travel Abroad

Preface

Foreign Travels of the Secretary of State, 1866-2005, prepared by the Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, presents basic information concerning trips taken outside the United States by the Secretary of State.  It includes the first visit of a Secretary abroad in January 1866 (that of William Henry Seward to the Virgin Islands, then a colony of Denmark, and other points in the Caribbean) to the foreign travels of Colin L. Powell through January 2005.

Entries cover both official and unofficial travel of the Secretary, including foreign visits taken for vacation purposes, when information concerning such visits is available. Coverage, however, does not include trips to U.S. territories overseas, days spent at sea in international waters, or stops at uninhabited islands. Refueling stops outside the United States during transoceanic flights are not included unless the Secretary met with foreign dignitaries, delivered a speech, or transacted other business.

Entries include the name of the Secretary, the country and the city (locale) or dependent area visited, and the inclusive dates of the visit. When multiple locales appear, they are in the order visited. The last line of each entry includes highlights relating to each visit, such as meetings with foreign dignitaries, international conferences attended, or other purposes of the visit. When a visit was taken in conjunction with a presidential visit, it is so indicated.

The visits are listed in two separate sections: chronologically by Secretary of State; and alphabetically by country visited.  Visits to dependent territories are included under the country having sovereignty over the territory at the time of the visit. For example, visits to Algeria prior to 1962, when it gained independence, are under France.  In the country section, entries for countries that no longer exist have been moved under the name of the successor state and cross references provided as needed.  In the entries under the Secretaries, the name of the country as it was at the time of the visit has been retained.  In both sections names and spellings of cities remain as they were at the time of the visit.

The data presented here was collected by Evan M. Duncan of the Policy Studies Divison, Office of the Historian.