Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | |
---|---|
![]() Seal of the Secretary of the Commonwealth | |
Type | Secretary |
Appointer | Governor |
Formation | 1777 |
First holder | Timothy Matlack |
Website | Official website |
The secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (equivalent to "secretary of state") administers the Pennsylvania Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Unlike many other states which elect the secretary of state, in Pennsylvania, the secretary is appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the State Senate. [1] The current secretary of the Commonwealth is Republican Al Schmidt, who was appointed by governor Josh Shapiro. [2]
The Pennsylvania Department of State 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, kick–boxing and wrestling in the commonwealth.
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.
The Pennsylvania Department of State consists of six bureaus: [3]
Image | Name | Dates served | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Timothy Matlack | 1777–1783 | Thomas Wharton Jr. |
![]() | John Armstrong, Jr. | 1783–1787 | John Dickinson |
![]() | Charles Biddle | 1787–1791 | Benjamin Franklin |
![]() | Alexander J. Dallas | 1791–1801 | Thomas Mifflin |
Thomas McKean Thompson | 1801–1808 | Thomas McKean | |
Nathaniel B. Boileau | 1808–1817 | Simon Snyder | |
Thomas Sergeant | 1817–1819 | William Findlay | |
![]() | Samuel D. Ingham | 1819–1820 | |
![]() | Andrew Gregg | 1820–1823 | Joseph Hiester |
Molton C. Rogers | 1823–1826 | John Andrew Shulze | |
![]() | Isaac D. Barnard | 1826–1827 | |
Calvin Blythe | 1827–1829 | ||
![]() | Samuel McKean | 1829–1833 | George Wolf |
James Findley | 1833–1835 | ||
![]() | Thomas Henry Burrowes | 1835–1839 | Joseph Ritner |
![]() | Francis R. Shunk | 1839–1842 | David R. Porter |
Anson V. Parsons | 1842–1843 | ||
Charles McClure | 1843–1845 | ||
Jesse Miller | 1845–1848 | Francis R. Shunk | |
Townsend Haines | 1848–1850 | William F. Johnston | |
Alexander L. Russel | 1850–1852 | ||
Francis W. Hughes | 1852–1853 | William Bigler | |
Charles A Black | 1853–1855 | ||
![]() | Andrew Gregg Curtin | 1855–1858 | James Pollock |
William M. Heister | 1858–1861 | William F. Packer | |
Eli Slifer | 1861–1867 | Andrew Gregg Curtin | |
Francis Jordan | 1867–1873 | John W. Geary | |
![]() | Matthew S. Quay | 1873–1878 | John F. Hartranft |
John Blair Linn | 1878–1879 | ||
![]() | Matthew S. Quay | 1879–1882 | Henry M. Hoyt |
Francis Jordan | 1882–1883 | ||
![]() | William S. Stenger | 1883–1887 | Robert E. Pattison |
![]() | Charles Warren Stone | 1887–1890 | James A. Beaver |
Jacob H. Longnecker | 1890–1891 | ||
![]() | William F. Harrity | 1891–1895 | Robert E. Pattison |
Frank Reeder | 1895–1897 | Daniel H. Hastings | |
David Martin | 1897–1899 | ||
![]() | William Walton Griest | 1899–1903 | William A. Stone |
Frank M. Fuller | 1903–1905 | Samuel W. Pennypacker | |
Robert B. McAfee | 1905–1915 | ||
![]() | Cyrus Woods | 1915–1921 | Martin Grove Brumbaugh |
Bernard J. Myers | 1921–1923 | William Cameron Sproul | |
Clyde L. King | 1923–1926 | Gifford Pinchot | |
E. H. Conarroe | 1926–1927 | ||
Charles Johnson | 1927–1929 | John Stuchell Fisher | |
Robert R. Lewis | 1929–1930 | ||
James Walker | 1930–1931 | ||
Richard J. Beamish | 1931–1934 | Gifford Pinchot | |
John J. Owen | 1934–1935 | ||
![]() | David L. Lawrence | 1935–1939 | George Earle |
Sophia O'Hara | 1939–1943 | Arthur James | |
Charles M. Morrison | 1943–1949 | Edward Martin | |
Gene D. Smith | 1949–1955 | James H. Duff | |
James A. Finnegan | 1955 | Edward Martin | |
Henry Harner | 1955–1956 | George M. Leader | |
James A. Finnegan | 1956–1958 | ||
![]() | John S. Rice | 1958–1961 | |
E. James Trimarchi | 1961–1963 | David L. Lawrence | |
George I. Bloom | 1963–1965 | William Scranton | |
W. Stuart Helm | 1965–1967 | ||
Craig Truax | 1967–1968 | Raymond P. Shafer | |
Joseph J. Kelley | 1968–1971 | ||
![]() | C. Delores Tucker | 1971–1977 | Milton Shapp |
James D. Golden | 1977 | ||
Barton A. Fields | 1977–1979 | ||
Ethel D. Allen | 1979 | Dick Thornburgh | |
William R. Davis | 1979–1985 | ||
Richard E. Anderson | 1985 | ||
Robert A Gleason, Jr. | 1985–1987 | ||
James J. Haggerty | 1987–1989 | Bob Casey Sr. | |
Christopher A. Lewis | 1989–1991 | ||
Brenda K. Mitchell | 1992–1994 | ||
Robert N. Grant | 1994–1995 | ||
Yvette Kane | 1995–1998 | Tom Ridge | |
Kim Pizzingrilli | 1999–2002 | ||
C. Michael Weaver | 2002–2003 | Mark Schweiker | |
![]() | Pedro Cortés | 2003–2010 | Ed Rendell |
Basil L. Merenda | 2010–2011 | ||
Carol Aichele | 2011–2015 | Tom Corbett | |
![]() | Pedro Cortés | 2015–2017 | Tom Wolf |
Robert Torres | 2017–2019 | ||
![]() | Kathy Boockvar | 2019–2021 | |
Veronica Degraffenreid (acting) | 2021–2022 | ||
![]() | Leigh M. Chapman (acting) | 2022–2023 | |
![]() | Al Schmidt | 2023–present | Josh Shapiro |