United States Secretary of Energy

United States Secretary of Energy
Official Seal
Incumbent: Steven Chu since: January 21, 2009
First	James R. Schlesinger
Formation	August 6, 1977
Presidential succession	Fifteenth
Website	www.doe.gov

The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fifteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Energy on October 1, 1977, by President Jimmy Carter's signing of the Department of Energy Organization Act.^[1] The position was originally developed to focus on energy production and regulation. During the 1980s, the emphasis shifted to development of technology for better, more efficient energy sources as well as education regarding energy. As the Cold War ended, the department's efforts were more often devoted to nuclear waste disposal and maintenance of environmental quality.^[2]

The first Secretary of Energy was former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, the only time a president has appointed someone of another party to the post. Schlesinger was also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post.^[3] Bill Clinton's first Secretary of Energy, Hazel R. O'Leary, was the longest to hold the position, as well as its first female and African-American holder.^[4] Clinton also named Federico Peña to the post, the first Hispanic to hold the position.^[5] Bill Richardson, who succeeded Peña, was the second Hispanic to hold the position and later became Governor of New Mexico.^[6] On January 20, 2009, Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position, serving under the administration of Barack Obama.^[7]

List of Secretaries of Energy

#	Name	Portrait	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President served under
1	Schlesinger, JamesJames Schlesinger		Virginia	01977-08-06 August 6, 1977	01979-08-06 August 6, 1979	Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter
2	Duncan, CharlesCharles Duncan		Texas	01979-08-24 August 24, 1979	01981-01-20 January 20, 1981
3	Edwards, JamesJames Edwards		South Carolina	01981-01-23 January 23, 1981	01982-11-05 November 5, 1982	Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan
4	Hodel, DonaldDonald Hodel		Oregon	01982-11-05 November 5, 1982	01985-02-07 February 7, 1985
5	Herrington, JohnJohn Herrington		California	01985-02-07 February 7, 1985	01989-01-20 January 20, 1989
6	Watkins, JamesJames Watkins		California	01989-03-01 March 1, 1989	01993-01-20 January 20, 1993	Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush
7	O'Leary, HazelHazel O'Leary		Minnesota	01993-01-22 January 22, 1993	01997-01-20 January 20, 1997	Clinton, BillBill Clinton
8	Peña, FedericoFederico Peña		Colorado	01997-03-12 March 12, 1997	01998-06-30 June 30, 1998
9	Richardson, BillBill Richardson		New Mexico	01998-08-18 August 18, 1998	02001-01-20 January 20, 2001
10	Abraham, SpencerSpencer Abraham		Michigan	02001-01-20 January 20, 2001	02005-02-01 February 1, 2005	Bush, George W.George W. Bush
11	Bodman, SamuelSamuel Bodman		Illinois	02005-02-01 February 1, 2005	02009-01-20 January 20, 2009
12	Chu, StevenSteven Chu			02009-01-20 January 20, 2009	Present	Obama, BarackBarack Obama

Related developments

President Barack Obama established a new position in the White House, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, and selected Carol Browner for the new post. Browner is a former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is currently a principal of the Albright Group LLC, a firm that provides strategic advice to companies.^[8]

See also

• United States Secretary of Transportation

References

External links

• "Official site of U.S. Department of Energy". U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.energy.gov. Retrieved 2007-08-13. 
• "Secretaries of Energy". U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.energy.gov/news/4757.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-13. 

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