United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Official Seal
Incumbent: Shaun Donovan since: January 26, 2009[1]
First	Robert C. Weaver
Formation	September 9, 1965
Presidential succession	Thirteenth
Website	www.hud.gov

The United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, concerned with urban housing matters. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet.

The department was established on September 9, 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act Pub.L. 89-174 into law. It stipulated that the department was to be created no later than November 8, 60 days following the date of enactment. The actual implementation was postponed until January 13, 1966, following the completion of a special study group report on the federal role in solving urban problems. On January 18, 1966, Robert C. Weaver became the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed to the position. The department was also the first Cabinet department to be headed by an African American woman, Patricia Roberts Harris, in 1977. Henry Cisneros became the first Hispanic HUD Secretary in 1993. The current Secretary is Shaun Donovan.

List of Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development

     Denotes acting Secretaries

No.	Name	Portrait	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s) served under
1	Robert C. Weaver		New York	January 18, 1966	December 18, 1968	Lyndon Johnson
2	Robert C. Wood		Massachusetts	January 7, 1969	January 20, 1969
3	George W. Romney		Michigan	January 22, 1969	January 20, 1973	Richard Nixon
4	James Thomas Lynn		Ohio	February 2, 1973	February 5, 1975	Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
5	Carla Anderson Hills		California	March 10, 1975	January 20, 1977	Gerald Ford
6	Patricia R. Harris		Washington, D.C.	January 23, 1977	September 10, 1979	Jimmy Carter
7	Moon Landrieu		Louisiana	September 24, 1979	January 20, 1981
8	Samuel Pierce		New York	January 23, 1981	January 20, 1989	Ronald Reagan
-	J. Michael Dorsey			January 20, 1989	February 13, 1989	George H. W. Bush
9	Jack Kemp		New York	February 13, 1989	January 19, 1993
10	Henry Cisneros		Texas	January 22, 1993	January 19, 1997	Bill Clinton
11	Andrew Cuomo		New York	January 29, 1997	January 20, 2001
-	William C. Apgar			January 2, 2001	January 24, 2001	George W. Bush
12	Mel Martinez		Florida	January 24, 2001	December 12, 2003
13	Alphonso Jackson		Texas	December 12, 2003	April 1, 2004
				April 1, 2004	April 18, 2008
-	Roy A. Bernardi		New York	April 18, 2008	June 4, 2008
14	Steve Preston		Illinois	June 4, 2008	January 20, 2009
-	Brian D. Montgomery			January 20, 2009	January 26, 2009	Barack Obama
15	Shaun Donovan		New York	January 26, 2009[1]	present

Living former Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development

• James Thomas Lynn
• Carla Anderson Hills
• Moon Landrieu
• Henry Cisneros
• Andrew Cuomo
• Mel Martinez
• Alphonso Jackson
• Steven C. Preston

References