List of international trips made by secretaries of state of the United States



This is a list of international visits undertaken by the secretaries of state of the United States. The list includes both private travel and official state visits. The list includes only foreign travel which the secretaries of state have made during their tenure in the position.

The first secretary of state who made a trip abroad was William H. Seward, who visited the Danish West Indies in 1866. In the early years, most secretary of state visits took place in the North, Central, and South American countries and in the Caribbean. John Hay was the first secretary of state to visit Europe. Philander C. Knox was the first to go to Asia. Cordell Hull was the first to go to Africa. Dean Rusk was the first to go to Oceania. John Kerry was the first to complete all 7 continents by visiting Antarctica.

William H. Seward

 * William H. Seward (in office 1861–1869)

John Hay

 * John Hay (in office: 1898–1905)

Elihu Root

 * Elihu Root (in office 1905–1909)

Philander C. Knox

 * Philander C. Knox (in office 1909–1913)

Robert Lansing

 * Robert Lansing (in office 1915–1920)

Bainbridge Colby

 * Bainbridge Colby (in office 1920–1921)

Charles Evans Hughes

 * Charles Evans Hughes (in office 1921–1925)

Frank Kellogg

 * Frank B. Kellogg (in office 1925–1929)

Henry L. Stimson

 * Henry L. Stimson (in office 1929–1933)

Cordell Hull

 * Cordell Hull (in office 1933–1944)

Edward Stettinius

 * Edward Stettinius, Jr. (in office 1944–1945)

James F. Byrnes

 * James F. Byrnes (in office 1945–1947)

George C. Marshall

 * George C. Marshall (in office 1947–1949)

Dean Acheson

 * Dean Acheson (in office 1949–1953)

John Foster Dulles

 * John Foster Dulles (in office 1953–1959)

Christian Herter

 * Christian Herter (in office 1959–1961)

Dean Rusk

 * Dean Rusk (in office 1961–1969)

William P. Rogers

 * William P. Rogers (in office 1969–1973)

Henry Kissinger

 * Henry Kissinger (in office 1973–1977)

Cyrus Vance

 * Cyrus Vance (in office 1977–1980)

Edmund Muskie

 * Edmund Muskie (in office 1980–1981)

Alexander Haig

 * Alexander Haig (in office 1981–1982)

George P. Shultz

 * George P. Shultz (in office 1982–1989)

James Baker

 * James Baker (in office 1989–1992)