Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State was twice concluded with a recommendation of no charges, a recommendation that was followed by the Justice Department, but according to Clinton herself, the emails matter and the way in which it would not go away contributed to her electoral defeat. Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served as the 67th United States Secretary of State, under President Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2013, overseeing the department that conducted the Foreign policy of Barack Obama. She was preceded in office by Condoleezza Rice, and succeeded by John Kerry. She is also the only former First Lady of
Secretary of state as a deputy minister, having only the powers delegated to him by his minister. Historically, since the 17th century, the title of "secretary of State" was used to designate the heads of the Government departments of Portugal. In the 19th century, the title of "minister" started to be used instead, the official complete title of each of the ministers becoming "minister and secretary of State of a given portfolio" until the end of the Monarchy in 1910. From them on, the title "minister" completely replaced that of "secretary of State" (with the exception of the brief presidential system that existed