<P> Madeleine Albright became the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State and the first foreign - born woman to serve in the Cabinet when she was appointed Secretary of State in 1997 . Condoleezza Rice became the second female secretary of state in 2005 . Hillary Clinton became the third female secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009 . </P> <P> In 2014, the State Department began expanding into the Navy Hill Complex across 23rd Street NW from the Truman Building . A joint venture consisting of the architectural firms of Goody, Clancy and the Louis Berger Group won a $2.5 million contract in January 2014 to begin planning the renovation of the buildings on the 11.8 acres (48,000 m) Navy Hill campus, which housed the World War II headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services and was the first headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency . </P> <P> The Executive Branch and the U.S. Congress have constitutional responsibilities for U.S. foreign policy . Within the Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, and its head, the Secretary of State, is the President's principal foreign policy advisor . The Department advances U.S. objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the President's foreign policy . It also provides an array of important services to U.S. citizens and to foreigners seeking to visiernational crime, foreign military training programs, the services the Department provides, and more--are paid for by the foreign affairs budget, which represents little more than 1% of the total federal budget . As stated by the Department of State, its purpose includes: </P> <Ul> <Li> Protecting and assisting U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad; </Li> <Li> Assisting U.S. businesses in the international marketplace; </Li> <Li> Coordinating and providing support for international activities of other U.S. agencies (local, state, or federal government), official visits overseas and at home, and other diplomatic efforts . </Li> <Li> Keeping the public informed about U.S. foreign policy and relations with other countries and providing feedback from the public to administration officials . </Li> <Li> Providing automobile registration for non-diplomatic staff vehicles and the vehicles of diplomats of foreign countries having diplomatic immunity in the United States . </Li> </Ul>

What major department official is appointed by the president to deal with foreign countries