How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet

How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet

—-Official envelope: How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet
—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
——–(Name of Department)
—-
—-(Complete Address)

—-Address block on a letter or email: How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet
——–The Honorable (Full Name)
——–
Secretary of (Department)
—-
—-(Name of Department)

—-—-(Complete Address)

—-Social envelope: How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet
—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-(Complete Address)

—-As a salutation use:
—-—-Dear Secretary (Surname):

How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet

How to Address an Invitation to a Secretary in a State Cabinet

I am addressing an invitation to the secretary of our state’s Dept. of Agriculture, trade and Consumer Protection. How do I address a state-level official? Is he the Honorable?   Are the addressed as “Mister/Madam Secretary”?
—-—-– PD How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet

Dear PD:
#1) Job titles are not included on invitations and other social correspondence.   The idea is it is the person being invited …. not the job. A state secretary of a cabinet-level department is addressed:

—-Social envelope / invitation: How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet
—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-(Complete Address)

—-Inside envelope:
—-—-Secretary (Surname)

#2) When I was researching my book, I polled a number of state secretaries. When it came to being addressed just by their job title, they unanimously preferred:

—-The Honorable (Full Name)
——–and
—-Secretary (Surname)
—-—–TO
——–The Secretary of (Department)
—-——-and
——–Mr./Madame Secretary

One state secretary expressed it this way: “there is only one US Secretary of our discipline in the Cabinet in Washington … but there are 50 of us at the state level … so the singular title makes less sense.”

– Robert Hickey How to Address a Secretary in a State Cabinet

 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”