United States Secretary of Commerce


United States Secretary of Commerce

Official Seal


Incumbent:
Gary Locke
since: March 26, 2009[1]
First William Cox Redfield
Formation March 15, 1913
Presidential
succession		 10th
Website www.commerce.gov
The Commerce Secretary's office as it looked in the mid-20th century.

The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce."[2] Until 1913 there was one Secretary of Commerce and Labor, uniting this department with the Department of Labor, which is now headed by a separate Secretary of Labor.[3]

The Office of the Secretary contains a Deputy Secretary of Commerce, a Chief of Staff, a Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, an Assistant Secretary for Commerce and Intergovernmental Affairs, a Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration, a Chief Information Officer, a General Counsel, an Inspector General, an Office of Business Liaison, an Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, an Office of Public Affairs, an Office of White House Liaison, and an International IPR Enforcement Coordinator.[4]

The current Secretary of Commerce is former Washington Governor Gary Locke, who was nominated for the post by President Barack Obama on February 25, 2009, and was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 24, 2009.[5]

Locke is President Obama's third choice for the post following New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who dropped out of consideration in early January 2009, and Republican Senator Judd Gregg from New Hampshire, who withdrew his nomination in February 2009.

Locke is the first Chinese American Secretary of Commerce, and the third Asian American in Obama's cabinet, joining Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the most of any administration in United States history.

Prior to Locke's confirmation, the most-recent Senate confirmed Commerce Secretary was Carlos Gutierrez, whose January 20, 2009, resignation coincided with the end of President George W. Bush's administration.

The line of succession for the Secretary of Commerce is as follows:[6]

  1. Deputy Secretary of Commerce
  2. General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
  3. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
  4. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
  5. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  6. Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology
  7. Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
  8. Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of Administration
  9. Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs

Contents

List of Secretaries of Commerce

The following is a list of Secretaries of Commerce[7]      Denotes acting Commerce Secretary

No. Picture Secretary Start of Term End of Term President(s)
1 William C. Redfield March 5, 1913 October 31, 1919 Woodrow Wilson
2 Joshua W. Alexander December 16, 1919 March 4, 1921
3 Herbert Hoover March 5, 1921 August 21, 1928 Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
4 William F. Whiting August 22, 1928 March 4, 1929 Calvin Coolidge
5 Robert P. Lamont March 5, 1929 August 7, 1932 Herbert Hoover
6 Roy D. Chapin August 8, 1932 March 3, 1933
7 Daniel C. Roper March 4, 1933 December 23, 1938 Franklin Roosevelt
8 Harry Hopkins December 24, 1938 September 18, 1940
9 Jesse H. Jones September 19, 1940 March 1, 1945
10 Henry A. Wallace March 2, 1945 September 20, 1946 Franklin Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
11 W. Averell Harriman October 7, 1946 April 22, 1948 Harry S. Truman
12 Charles W. Sawyer May 6, 1948 January 20, 1953
13 Sinclair Weeks January 21, 1953 November 10, 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Lewis Strauss
(Acting Secretary)		 November 13, 1958 June 30, 1959
14 Frederick H. Mueller June 30, 1959 August 10, 1959
August 10, 1959 January 19, 1961
15 Luther H. Hodges January 21, 1961 January 15, 1965 John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
16 John T. Connor January 18, 1965 January 31, 1967 Lyndon Johnson
17 Alexander Trowbridge January 31, 1967 June 14, 1967
June 14, 1967 March 1, 1968
18 C. R. Smith March 6, 1968 January 19, 1969
19 Maurice Stans January 21, 1969 February 15, 1972 Richard Nixon
20 Peter Peterson February 29, 1972 February 1, 1973
21 Frederick B. Dent February 2, 1973 March 26, 1975 Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
22 Rogers Morton May 1, 1975 February 2, 1976 Gerald Ford
23 Elliot Richardson February 2, 1976 January 20, 1977
24 Juanita M. Kreps January 23, 1977 October 31, 1979 Jimmy Carter
- Luther H. Hodges, Jr (Acting) October 31, 1979 January 9, 1980
25 Philip Klutznick January 9, 1980 January 19, 1981
26 Howard M. Baldrige, Jr. January 20, 1981 July 25, 1987 Ronald Reagan
- Clarence J. Brown Jr. (Acting) July 25, 1987 October 19, 1987
27 William Verity, Jr. October 19, 1987 January 30, 1989
28 Robert Mosbacher January 31, 1989 January 15, 1992 George H. W. Bush
- Rockwell A. Schnabel (Acting) January 15, 1992 February 27, 1992
29 Barbara Franklin February 27, 1992 January 20, 1993
30 Ron Brown January 22, 1993 April 3, 1996 Bill Clinton
31 Mickey Kantor April 12, 1996 January 21, 1997
32 William M. Daley January 30, 1997 July 19, 2000
- Robert L. Mallett (Acting) July 19, 2000 July 21, 2000
33 Norman Mineta July 21, 2000 January 19, 2001
34 Donald Evans January 20, 2001 February 7, 2005 George W. Bush
35 Carlos Gutierrez February 7, 2005 January 20, 2009
- Otto Wolff (Acting) January 20, 2009 March 26, 2009 Barack Obama
36 Gary Locke March 26, 2009 Present

References

  1. ^ O'Keefe, Ed (2009-03-27). "Locke Officially Leading Commerce". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/03/locke_officially_leading_comme.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-06. 
  2. ^ ""US Department of Commerce, Directives Management Program"". http://204.193.232.34/cgi-bin/doit.cgi?204:112:ca6ff65e72b6f38e4fe42ea2ba9cf9358ad6df26eae063a68a6e8f420a9ac897:245. Retrieved on September 22 2007. 
  3. ^ ""Department of Commerce - Milestones"". http://www.commerce.gov/About_Us/Milestones/index.htm. Retrieved on September 22 2007. 
  4. ^ ""Department of Commerce - Commerce Organization"". http://www.commerce.gov/About_Us/Officials/index.htm. Retrieved on September 22 2007. 
  5. ^ http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/24/senate-confirms-locke-to-commerce/
  6. ^ ""Executive Order on Succession at the Department of Commerce"". http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011229-3.html. Retrieved on September 22 2007. 
  7. ^ ""Department of Commerce Home Page --"". http://www.commerce.gov/secretaries.html. Retrieved on September 22 2007. 

Living former Secretaries of Commerce

See also

v • d • e
Agencies under the United States Department of Commerce
Headquarters: Herbert C. Hoover Building · Secretary of Commerce · Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security United States Department of Commerce Seal
Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator for NOAA
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
v • d • e
Leaders of the United States federal executive departments






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