secretary:
(plural: ‘secretaries‘; for the right pronunciation of this word, please click here)
a secretary of an office at her desk
(in an office) an employee whose job in an office is to keep records/files, arrange meetings, receive and make phone calls and see to day-to-day affairs run smoothly for an officer, usually the manager or boss of an office;
(in a company or organisation or department) an officer, with complete authority of his/her own, in charge of a particular department who, with the help of several assistants (secretaries), run the department by acting like a mediator between staff and management, between the company and its board of directors, etc.;
(in club or association) a volunteer member or an employee whose responsibility it is to see to the day-to-day affairs of the club or association, usually under the instructions of the charter or office regulations;
(in politics in some countries, as in the USA) a public official, usually a politician elected by the people or appointed by the president, who is in charge of a particular portfolio, the foreign affairs deparment, in the sense of a political position ‘minister‘ in some countries,
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton of USA meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Japan & Korea
Being the secretary, Joan knows all the different activities that go on in the office.
After finishing his business management course in the US, he worked in the administrative section of a large company and soon was offered the company secretary position which he accepted and soon showed his business acumen in taking the company to new heights.
The Secretary of State of the USA, Mrs Hillary Clinton, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Mr Olugbenga Ashiru, to discuss the bilateral issues of both countries.
