"...Being a Secretary (of State) is a ROLE, not a RANK. There's only one secretary of (a department) at a time, and only the current office holder is granted the courtesies of the office. Being addressed as a "Secretary" is a courtesy of the office. While a former official might find receiving the courtesies of the office to be flattering, it is not respectful to the current, singular, office holder. A former Secretary wanting to be addressed as Secretary (Name) is definitely hanging on to her former glory, in hopes some of the prestige and power will hang on too!..." Robert Hickey Protocol School of Washington

"...Being a Secretary (of State) is a ROLE, not a RANK. There's only one secretary of (a department) at a time, and only the current office holder is granted the courtesies of the office. Being addressed as a "Secretary" is a courtesy of the office. While a former official might find receiving the courtesies of the office to be flattering, it is not respectful to the current, singular, office holder. A former Secretary wanting to be addressed as Secretary (Name) is definitely hanging on to her former glory, in hopes some of the prestige and power will hang on too!..." Robert Hickey Protocol School of Washington via DoubleTapper http://ift.tt/2dGwhqE