The State Department is the State Department: structure, functions. Department of State

Today in Russia, the "state department" is a common symbol of the traitor to our homeland. Any negative commentary on our government, any manifestation of discontent - and the citizen automatically becomes in the eyes of some "patriots" and members of the so-called "liberation movements", "the agent of the State Department", "organizer of the Maidan", "traitor to the Motherland", etc. ., On which "there is not enough of Stalin." Many of the "sellers" of our state even have no idea about the meaning of the term. What is the US State Department? We will try to understand this further in the article.

State Department of the USA: concept

Let's start with the concept. The State Department is the State Department of the United States of America. In our country, its analogue is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation). The official name in the English language is United States Department of State.

For many of our citizens, the State Department is a negative, abusive word. The reason for the formation of such a negative image was played by Russian propaganda. Our media and many politicians accuse the US Department of State of all the deadly sins of mankind. All the wars in the world, revolutions, insurrections, unrest, even mass layoffs occur according to the scenarios of this department.

Functions

The US government and the State Department are not the same. The State Department performs the following functions:

• Manages US diplomatic agencies abroad.
• Conducts the country's foreign policy.
• It is the depositary of international treaties in which the United States is a party. In other words, it has the power to sign international acts on behalf of the whole country.
• Provides protection and assistance to US citizens and US companies abroad.
• Coordinates the actions of all American agencies and agencies that carry out their activities abroad. That is why the State Department is considered to be the culprit of all the ills emanating from all American public organizations, although they themselves do not obey it.
• Provides interaction with all diplomatic missions of other countries in the United States, etc.

Management

The State Department is headed by the state secret. He is appointed by the president, but he must be approved by the US Congress. At the moment (2017), the head is Rex Tillerson, who was appointed by Donald Trump. Prior to him, this post was held by John Kerry, appointed by Barack Obama.

In the US there is no post of prime minister. There is also no single executive body, which we call the government of the Russian Federation, headed by the Prime Minister. In the United States, the head of the executive branch is the president. All heads of departments are in the President's Cabinet.

The US government is a system divided into three independent branches of government: legislative (Congress), executive (president and departments), judicial. The State Department is one of the departments of the executive branch, and not the entire US government, as many people think in our country.

Other Departments

In addition to the state department (an analogue of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs), there are other departments in the United States in the system of executive power:

1. Department of Agriculture.
2. Trade.
3. Defense.
4. Education.
5. Power engineering.
6. Health and welfare.
7. National Security.
8. Housing and urban construction.
9. Justice.
10. Labor.
11. Internal affairs.
12. Financially.
13. Transport.
14. On the affairs of veterans.

In addition to them, the system of various governmental and non-governmental organizations is developed in the USA: foundations, non-profit organizations, etc. Some of them conduct their active activities abroad, but they do not obey the state department. That's why it's wrong to blame the US "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" for all the problems and disasters on our planet.

Structure of the State Department

The head of the department is the secretary of state, who reports to the president. He organizes and controls the work of the department.

He is subordinated to the United States Under Secretary of State, Human Resources Director, Executive Secretary, and to the deputies:

1. The deputy for political issues - in the absence of the head of the department and deputy secretary of state, acts as secretary of state. He coordinates all US diplomacy.
2. Deputy. Management is responsible for the budget, property and staff of the State Department.
3. Deputy. On economic growth, energy and the environment - is responsible for international economic policy, international treaties related to agriculture, the environment, aviation, etc.
4. Deputy. On public diplomacy and public relations (press secretary of the State Department) is responsible for the image of the United States around the world, cooperates with various international media and public communications departments.
5. Deputy. On affairs of the control over arms and the international safety is responsible for the military help of the USA to the third countries.
6. Deputy. On civil security.

Budget

The State Department manages a colossal budget, which comes from the state budget of the United States. Approximately 1% of all taxes of Americans go to support the activities of their "Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Every American pays $ 166 a year - that's about 45 cents a day.

The budget of the State Department in 2017 is approximately $ 38 billion. This money goes for the following purposes:

1. Salary of employees (about 69 thousand people) and diplomats (about 13 thousand diplomats), their expenses for business trips.
2. The content of diplomatic embassies and consulates.
3. Financing of foreign programs and assistance to other countries.
4. Financing of international organizations, etc.

The new US president, D. Trump, said that in the near future, the state department's budget will be cut by about 30%. Savings will be due to a reduction in financial assistance to Ukraine, as well as through a reduction in contributions to some international organizations. It is assumed that the proceeds will go to those goals that really "meet the national interests of Americans." Earlier, the Pentagon was always against the draft budget cuts of the State Department. However, this time he is unlikely to say his weighty word: the money saved will be spent on the rearmament of the army, therefore, the military ministry is itself interested in reducing the financing of the State Department.