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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established in 1963 after independence, as External Affairs Department under the office of the Prime Minister operating from the then Government House. The Prime Minister was the First Minister for Foreign Affairs in Kenya. The Ministry was later renamed the Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs still under the Office of the President. In 1969, the Department became a fully fledged Ministry with a first Minister for Foreign Affairs and only three divisions namely; Political/Economic, Protocol and Administration.

Immediately after independence, the Government established Diplomatic Missions in London, Moscow, Bonn (Germany) Peking (currently Beijing), Cairo ,Washington/New York (UN) and Paris. By 1969, other diplomatic missions were established in Addis Ababa, Lusaka, New Delhi and Tokyo. From 1978 onwards, more Missions were opened in different parts of the world.

The State Department currently oversees the management of 70 fully fledged Missions with multiple accreditations, 4 Consulates-General, 2 Missions in Nairobi, 1 Liaison office, and 30 Honorary Consuls spread across the globe. 

The State Department also serves ninety-three (93) resident Foreign Diplomatic Missions, and thirty-six (36) non-resident Diplomatic Missions; Forty-eight (48) UN Agencies and one hundred and thirteen (113) Inter-Governmental and International Organizations hosted in Kenya.