15 & 16 Vict. ce. 87, § 23.—Secretary of embassy. A diplomatic officer appointed as secretary or assistant to an ambassador or minister plenipotentiary.—Secretary of legation, An officer employed to attend a foreign mission and to perform certain duties as clerk.—Secretary of state. In American law. This is the tifle of the chief of the executive bureau of the United States called the “Department of State.”