 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] - Deputy Secretary of Commerce
- General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
- Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
- Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of Administration
- Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
[edit] List of Secretaries of Commerce The following is a list of Secretaries of Commerce[7] Denotes acting Commerce Secretary | No. | Picture | Secretary | State of residence | Start of Term | End of Term | President(s) | | 1 |  | William C. Redfield | New York | March 5, 1913 | October 31, 1919 | Woodrow Wilson | | 2 |  | Joshua W. Alexander | Missouri | December 16, 1919 | March 4, 1921 | | 3 |  | Herbert Hoover | California | March 5, 1921 | August 21, 1928 | Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge | | 4 |  | William F. Whiting | Massachusetts | August 22, 1928 | March 4, 1929 | Calvin Coolidge | | 5 |  | Robert P. Lamont | Illinois | March 5, 1929 | August 7, 1932 | Herbert Hoover | | 6 |  | Roy D. Chapin | Michigan | August 8, 1932 | March 3, 1933 | | 7 |  | Daniel C. Roper | South Carolina | March 4, 1933 | December 23, 1938 | Franklin Roosevelt | | 8 |  | Harry Hopkins | New York | December 24, 1938 | September 18, 1940 | | 9 |  | Jesse H. Jones | Texas | September 19, 1940 | March 1, 1945 | | 10 |  | Henry A. Wallace | Iowa | March 2, 1945 | September 20, 1946 | Franklin Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman | | 11 |  | W. Averell Harriman | New York | October 7, 1946 | April 22, 1948 | Harry S. Truman | | 12 |  | Charles W. Sawyer | Ohio | May 6, 1948 | January 20, 1953 | | 13 |  | Sinclair Weeks | Massachusetts | January 21, 1953 | November 10, 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | | - |  | Lewis Strauss
(Acting Secretary) | | November 13, 1958 | June 30, 1959 | | 14 |  | Frederick H. Mueller | Michigan | June 30, 1959 | August 10, 1959 | | August 10, 1959 | January 19, 1961 | | 15 |  | Luther H. Hodges | North Carolina | January 21, 1961 | January 15, 1965 | John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson | | 16 |  | John T. Connor | New Jersey | January 18, 1965 | January 31, 1967 | Lyndon Johnson | | 17 |  | Alexander Trowbridge | New York | January 31, 1967 | June 14, 1967 | | June 14, 1967 | March 1, 1968 | | 18 |  | C. R. Smith | New York | March 6, 1968 | January 19, 1969 | | 19 |  | Maurice Stans | New York | January 21, 1969 | February 15, 1972 | Richard Nixon | | 20 |  | Peter Peterson | Illinois | February 29, 1972 | February 1, 1973 | | 21 |  | Frederick B. Dent | South Carolina | February 2, 1973 | March 26, 1975 | Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford | | 22 |  | Rogers Morton | Maryland | May 1, 1975 | February 2, 1976 | Gerald Ford | | 23 |  | Elliot Richardson | Massachusetts | February 2, 1976 | January 20, 1977 | | 24 |  | Juanita M. Kreps | North Carolina | January 23, 1977 | October 31, 1979 | Jimmy Carter | | - | | Luther H. Hodges, Jr (Acting) | | October 31, 1979 | January 9, 1980 | | 25 |  | Philip Klutznick | Illinois | January 9, 1980 | January 19, 1981 | | 26 |  | Howard M. Baldrige, Jr. | Connecticut | January 20, 1981 | July 25, 1987 | Ronald Reagan | | - | | Clarence J. Brown Jr. (Acting) | Ohio | July 25, 1987 | October 19, 1987 | | 27 |  | William Verity, Jr. | Ohio | October 19, 1987 | January 30, 1989 | | 28 |  | Robert Mosbacher | Texas | January 31, 1989 | January 15, 1992 | George H. W. Bush | | - | | Rockwell A. Schnabel (Acting) | | January 15, 1992 | February 27, 1992 | | 29 |  | Barbara Franklin | Pennsylvania | February 27, 1992 | January 20, 1993 | | 30 |  | Ron Brown | New York | January 22, 1993 | April 3, 1996 | Bill Clinton | | 31 |  | Mickey Kantor | California | April 12, 1996 | January 21, 1997 | | 32 |  | William M. Daley | Illinois | January 30, 1997 | July 19, 2000 | | - |  | Robert L. Mallett (Acting) | | July 19, 2000 | July 21, 2000 | | 33 |  | Norman Mineta | California | July 21, 2000 | January 19, 2001 | | 34 |  | Donald Evans | Texas | January 20, 2001 | February 7, 2005 | George W. Bush | | 35 |  | Carlos Gutierrez | Florida | February 7, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | | - |  | Otto Wolff (Acting) | | January 20, 2009 | March 26, 2009 | Barack Obama | | 36 |  | Gary Locke | Washington | March 26, 2009 | Present | [edit] Living former Secretaries of Commerce [edit] See also [edit] References
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