Secretary of the District of Columbia

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Secretary of State of the District of Columbia
Incumbent
Kimberly A. Bassett
since 2018
TypeSecretary
Formation1871
First holderNorton P. Chipman
WebsiteOfficial homepage of the District of Columbia Secretary of State

The Secretary of the District of Columbia is one of the officers of the Government of the District of Columbia. The position of Secretary of the District is equivalent to the office of Secretary of State in other U.S. states.[1]

The current Secretary of State of the District of Columbia is Kimberly A. Bassett.

The Secretary of State of the District of Columbia's Office is composed of six divisions:

  • The Ceremonial Services Unit processes requests for various ceremonial items such as proclamations.
  • The Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances prepares and publishes the official government documents of the District, including the District of Columbia Register and the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations
  • The Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications commissions District of Columbia notaries public and authenticates documents for domestic and foreign use.
  • The Office of Protocol and International Affairs is the District government’s primary liaison with the diplomatic and international community for both substantive and ceremonial matters.
  • The Office of Public Records and Archives is the records management office of the District and is responsible for the archiving of government documents.
  • The Office of the Secretary, which is the main office of the Secretary of the District. The Office of the Secretary is the custodian of the Seal of the District of Columbia.

List of secretaries of the District of Columbia[edit]

Name Term
Norton P. Chipman 1871[2]
Edwin L. Stanton 1871–1873
Richard Harrington 1873–1874
William Tindall 1874–1915
Daniel J. Donovan 1915–1918
C. Willard Camalier 1918–1919
Daniel E. Garges 1919–1934
Ronald M. Brennan 1934–1937
G.M. Thornett 1937–1964
F.E. Ropshaw 1964–1969
Martin Schaller 1969–1978
Dwight S. Cropp 1979–1984
Clifton B. Smith 1984–1987[3]
David Rivers 1987
Teri Y. Doke 1989–1990
Mildred W. Goodman 1991–1993
Stephanie Greene 1993–1994
Marianne Coleman Niles 1995–1996
Kathleen E. Arnold 1996–1998
Beverly D. Rivers 1999–2003
Sherryl Hobbs Newman 2003–2005
Patricia Elwood 2005–2007
Stephanie Scott 2007–2010
Naomi Shelton 2010–2011
Cynthia Brock-Smith 2011–2014
Sharon Anderson 2014–2015 (interim)
Lauren Vaughan 2015–2018
Kimberly Bassett 2018–present

References[edit]

  1. ^ Description of the Secretary's role
  2. ^ National Association of Secretaries of State Handbook. National Association of Secretaries of State. 1987. p. 28. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. ^ Gardner, Bill, ed. (2004). "The States". Pillars of Public Service: One Hundred Years of the National Association of Secretaries of State 1904–2004 (PDF). Washington D.C.: National Association of Secretaries of State. p. 56. Retrieved June 8, 2020.