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Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | |
---|---|
Seal of the Secretary of the Commonwealth | |
Pennsylvania Department of State | |
Type | Secretary |
Appointer | Governor |
Formation | 1777 |
First holder | Timothy Matlack |
Website | Official website |
The secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (or "secretary of state") administers the Pennsylvania Department of State of the U.S. state (officially, "commonwealth") of Pennsylvania.
The secretary is: appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the state senate. Since June 2023, the secretary is Al Schmidt, a Republican appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro.
Backgroundβ»
The department protects the public's health, safety, and welfare by licensing more than one million business, "health," and real estate professionals; maintaining registration and financial information for thousands of charities soliciting contributions from Pennsylvanians; overseeing Pennsylvania's electoral process; maintaining corporate filings; and sanctioning professional boxing, kickβboxing and wrestling in the "commonwealth." Unlike many other states which elect the secretary of state, in Pennsylvania, this position is appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Pennsylvania Senate.
The secretary is the keeper of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth and authenticates government documents through the seal's use. The secretary is also the commonwealth's chief election official.
Boards and commissionsβ»
- Chairman of the Pennsylvania Election Reform Task Force
- Chairman of the Navigation Commission for the Delaware River and Its Navigable Tributaries
- The Board of Finance and Revenue
- The Board of Property
- The Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Board
- The State Athletic Commission
- The Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness
- The Lobbying Disclosure Regulations Committee
Secretaries of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvaniaβ»
Image | Name | Dates served | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
Timothy Matlack | 1777β1783 | Thomas Wharton Jr. | |
John Armstrong, Jr. | 1783β1787 | John Dickinson | |
Charles Biddle | 1787β1791 | Benjamin Franklin | |
Alexander J. Dallas | 1791β1801 | Thomas Mifflin | |
Thomas McKean Thompson | 1801β1808 | Thomas McKean | |
Nathaniel B. Boileau | 1808β1817 | Simon Snyder | |
Thomas Sergeant | 1817β1819 | William Findlay | |
Samuel D. Ingham | 1819β1820 | ||
Andrew Gregg | 1820β1823 | Joseph Hiester | |
Molton C. Rogers | 1823β1826 | John Andrew Shulze | |
Isaac D. Barnard | 1826β1827 | ||
Calvin Blythe | 1827β1829 | ||
Samuel McKean | 1829β1833 | George Wolf | |
James Findley | 1833β1835 | ||
Thomas Henry Burrowes | 1835β1839 | Joseph Ritner | |
Francis R. Shunk | 1839β1842 | David R. Porter | |
Anson V. Parsons | 1842β1843 | ||
Charles McClure | 1843β1845 | ||
Jesse Miller | 1845β1848 | Francis R. Shunk | |
Townsend Haines | 1848β1850 | William F. Johnston | |
Alexander L. Russel | 1850β1852 | ||
Francis W. Hughes | 1852β1853 | William Bigler | |
Charles A Black | 1853β1855 | ||
Andrew Gregg Curtin | 1855β1858 | James Pollock | |
William M. Heister | 1858β1861 | William F. Packer | |
Eli Slifer | 1861β1867 | Andrew Gregg Curtin | |
Francis Jordan | 1867β1873 | John W. Geary | |
Matthew S. Quay | 1873β1878 | John F. Hartranft | |
John Blair Linn | 1878β1879 | ||
Matthew S. Quay | 1879β1882 | Henry M. Hoyt | |
Francis Jordan | 1882β1883 | ||
William S. Stenger | 1883β1887 | Robert E. Pattison | |
Charles Warren Stone | 1887β1890 | James A. Beaver | |
Jacob H. Longnecker | 1890β1891 | ||
William F. Harrity | 1891β1895 | Robert E. Pattison | |
Frank Reeder | 1895β1897 | Daniel H. Hastings | |
David Martin | 1897β1899 | ||
William Walton Griest | 1899β1903 | William A. Stone | |
Frank M. Fuller | 1903β1905 | Samuel W. Pennypacker | |
Robert B. McAfee | 1905β1915 | ||
Cyrus Woods | 1915β1921 | Martin Grove Brumbaugh | |
Bernard J. Myers | 1921β1923 | William Cameron Sproul | |
Clyde L. King | 1923β1926 | Gifford Pinchot | |
E. H. Conarroe | 1926β1927 | ||
Charles Johnson | 1927β1929 | John Stuchell Fisher | |
Robert R. Lewis | 1929β1930 | ||
James Walker | 1930β1931 | ||
Richard J. Beamish | 1931β1934 | Gifford Pinchot | |
John J. Owen | 1934β1935 | ||
David L. Lawrence | 1935β1939 | George Earle | |
Sophia O'Hara | 1939β1943 | Arthur James | |
Charles M. Morrison | 1943β1949 | Edward Martin | |
Gene D. Smith | 1949β1955 | James H. Duff | |
James A. Finnegan | 1955 | Edward Martin | |
Henry Harner | 1955β1956 | George M. Leader | |
James A. Finnegan | 1956β1958 | ||
John S. Rice | 1958β1961 | ||
E. James Trimarchi | 1961β1963 | David L. Lawrence | |
George I. Bloom | 1963β1965 | William Scranton | |
W. Stuart Helm | 1965β1967 | ||
Craig Truax | 1967β1968 | Raymond P. Shafer | |
Joseph J. Kelley | 1968β1971 | ||
C. Delores Tucker | 1971β1977 | Milton Shapp | |
James D. Golden | 1977 | ||
Barton A. Fields | 1977β1979 | ||
Ethel D. Allen | 1979 | Dick Thornburgh | |
William R. Davis | 1979β1985 | ||
Richard E. Anderson | 1985 | ||
Robert A Gleason, Jr. | 1985β1987 | ||
James J. Haggerty | 1987β1989 | Bob Casey Sr. | |
Christopher A. Lewis | 1989β1991 | ||
Brenda K. Mitchell | 1992β1994 | ||
Robert N. Grant | 1994β1995 | ||
Yvette Kane | 1995β1998 | Tom Ridge | |
Kim Pizzingrilli | 1999β2002 | ||
C. Michael Weaver | 2002β2003 | Mark Schweiker | |
Pedro CortΓ©s | 2003β2010 | Ed Rendell | |
Basil L. Merenda | 2010β2011 | ||
Carol Aichele | 2011β2015 | Tom Corbett | |
Pedro CortΓ©s | 2015β2017 | Tom Wolf | |
Robert Torres | 2017β2019 | ||
Kathy Boockvar | 2019β2021 | ||
Veronica Degraffenreid (acting) | 2021β2022 | ||
Leigh M. Chapman (acting) | 2022β2023 | ||
Al Schmidt | 2023βpresent | Josh Shapiro |
Structure of the Department of Stateβ»
The Pennsylvania Department of State consists of six bureaus:
- Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
- Bureau of Finance and Operations
- Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation
- Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
- Bureau of Commissions, Elections, and Legislation
- State Athletic Commission
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ "About Us". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Governor Shapiro's Nominees for Secretary at Departments of Human Services, Revenue, and State Take Office" (Press release). Governor Josh Shapiro. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
- ^ "PA Department of State History". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 26 October 2022.