United States Secretary of Commerce

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Seal of the United States Department of Commerce
Seal of the United States Department of Commerce

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."[1] 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.[2]

The office of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the mid-20th century.
The office of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the mid-20th century.

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.[3]

The line of succession for the Secretary of Commerce is as follows:[4]


  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



[edit] List of Secretaries of Commerce[5]

No. Picture Secretary Start of Term End of Term President(s)
1
William Cox Redfield March 5, 1913 October 31, 1919 Woodrow Wilson
2
Joshua Willis Alexander December 16, 1919 March 4, 1921 Woodrow Wilson
3
Herbert Clark Hoover March 5, 1921 August 21, 1928 Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge
4
William Fairfield Whiting August 22, 1928 March 4, 1929 Calvin Coolidge
5
Robert Patterson Lamont March 5, 1929 August 7, 1932 Herbert Hoover
6
Roy Dikeman Chapin August 8, 1932 March 3, 1933 Herbert Hoover
7
Daniel Calhoun Roper March 4, 1933 December 23, 1938 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
8
Harry Lloyd Hopkins December 24, 1938 September 18, 1940 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
9
Jesse Holman Jones September 19, 1940 March 1, 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
10
Henry Agard Wallace March 2, 1945 September 20, 1946 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman
11
William Averell Harriman October 7, 1946 April 22, 1948 Harry S. Truman
12
Charles W. Sawyer May 6, 1948 January 20, 1953 Harry S. Truman
13
Charles Sinclair Weeks January 21, 1953 November 10, 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss (Acting Secretary) 1958 1959 Dwight D. Eisenhower
14
Frederick Henry Mueller August 10, 1959 January 19, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
15
Luther Hartwell Hodges January 21, 1961 January 15, 1965 John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
16
John Thomas Connor January 18, 1965 January 31, 1967 Lyndon Johnson
17
Alexander Buel Trowbridge June 14, 1967 March 1, 1968 Lyndon Johnson
18
Cyrus Rowlett Smith March 6, 1968 January 19, 1969 Lyndon Johnson
19
Maurice Hubert Stans January 21, 1969 February 15, 1972 Richard Nixon
20
Peter George Peterson February 29, 1972 February 1, 1973 Richard Nixon
21
Frederick Baily Dent February 2, 1973 March 26, 1975 Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
22
Rogers Clark Ballard Morton May 1, 1975 February 2, 1976 Gerald Ford
23
Elliot Lee Richardson February 2, 1976 January 20, 1977 Gerald Ford
24
Juanita Morris Kreps January 23, 1977 October 31, 1979 Jimmy Carter
25
Philip Morris Klutznick January 9, 1980 January 19, 1981 Jimmy Carter
26
Howard Malcolm Baldrige, Jr. January 20, 1981 July 25, 1987 Ronald Reagan
27
Calvin William Verity, Jr. October 19, 1987 January 30, 1989 Ronald Reagan
28
Robert Adam Mosbacher January 31, 1989 January 15, 1992 George H. W. Bush
29
Barbara Hackman Franklin February 27, 1992 January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush
30
Ronald Harmon Brown January 22, 1993 April 3, 1996 Bill Clinton
31
Michael Kantor April 12, 1996 January 21, 1997 Bill Clinton
32
William Michael Daley January 30, 1997 July 19, 2000 Bill Clinton
33
Norman Yoshio Mineta July 21, 2000 January 19, 2001 Bill Clinton
34
Donald Louis Evans January 20, 2001 February 7, 2005 George W. Bush
35
Carlos Miguel Gutierrez February 7, 2005 present George W. Bush

Footnote: Under Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges Jr served as Interim Secretary of Commerce October 31, 1979 to January 9, 1980.
From 25 July 1987 to 19 October 1987, Clarence J. Brown Jr. was Acting Secretary of Commerce.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "US Department of Commerce, Directives Management Program". Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
  2. ^ "Department of Commerce - Milestones". Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
  3. ^ "Department of Commerce - Commerce Organization". Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
  4. ^ "Executive Order on Succession at the Department of Commerce". Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
  5. ^ "Department of Commerce Home Page --". Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
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Agencies under the United States Department of Commerce
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