The nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex W. Tillerson tells me that the president-elect may have in mind a radically different job for his secretary of state, and by implication the department itself – possibly on the order of a paradigm shift. First, a brief historical background.  On January 10, 1780, the Confederation Congress created the Department of Foreign Affairs and, on August 10, 1781, selected Robert R. Livingston of New York as that department's secretary.  On July 27, 1789, George Washington signed a law reinstating the office of secretary of foreign affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs.  However, on September 15, 1789, Washington signed another law changing the name of the office to the Department of State and the title of its most senior official to secretary of state.  When Thomas Jefferson returned from France, he became our first secretary of state. Now, what are the current duties of the secretary of state?  The State...(Read Full Post)