Several presidents were cabinet members before they were president.
Thomas Jefferson was the first. Others were Madison, Monroe, Quincy Adams,
Van Buren, and Buchanan. All served as Secretary of State .
Heavens, no. He was Secretary of War in the administration of the 14th US president, Franklin Pierce, but not in Lincolns cabinet.
He served as US President, 1923-1929He served as US President, 1923-1929He served as US President, 1923-1929He served as US President, 1923-1929He served as US President, 1923-1929He served as US President, 1923-1929
Cabinet members are appointed by the President; with Senate approval.
Jefferson Davis served in two wars prior to his political positions in the US government. He served in the Black Hawk War and the Mexican War.
Kennedy served in the US Senate before becoming president. Before entering US politics, he worked for the US military service.
He has never been a Governor. Prior to being President he served as a US Senator from Illinois.
No US president ever served for that long.
Executive
cabinet
President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed the first female cabinet-member, Frances Perkins, as US Secretary of Labor. She served from 1933-1945.
From 1966-1968, Robert C. Weaver served as the US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, under President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Prior to President, Richard Nixon served in the US House of Representatives, the US Senate and Vice-President under Dwight D. Eisenhower.