United States Secretary of Commerce

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United States Secretary of Commerce
Seal of the United States Department of Commerce.svg
Flag of the United States Secretary of Commerce.svg
Flag of the secretary
Gina Raimondo (cropped 2).jpg
Incumbent
Gina Raimondo
since March 3, 2021
Department of Commerce
Style Madam Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Member of Cabinet
Reports to President
Seat Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer President
with Senate advice and consent
Term length No fixed term
Constituting instrument 15 U.S.C.   § 1501
Precursor Secretary of Commerce and Labor
FormationMarch 5, 1913;110 years ago (1913-03-05)
First holder William C. Redfield
Succession Tenth [1]
Deputy Deputy Secretary
Salary Executive Schedule, Level I
Website Commerce.gov
The Commerce Secretary's office as it looked in the mid-20th century. Commerce Building Secretary's Office.jpg
The Commerce Secretary's office as it looked in the mid-20th century.

The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary reports directly to the president and is a statutory member of Cabinet of the United States. The secretary is appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The secretary of commerce is concerned with promoting American businesses and industries; the department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce". [2]

Contents

Until 1913, there was one secretary of commerce and labor, uniting this department with the United States Department of Labor, which is now headed by a separate United States secretary of labor. [3]

Secretary of Commerce is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule [4] with an annual salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021. [5]

The current secretary of commerce is former Governor of Rhode Island Gina Raimondo, who was sworn in on March 3, 2021.

List of U.S. secretaries of commerce

Parties

   No party (1)    Democratic (20)    Republican (18)

Status
  Denotes acting commerce secretary
No.PortraitName [6] State of residenceTook officeLeft office President(s)
1 WilliamCoxRedfield.jpg William C. Redfield New York March 5, 1913October 31, 1919 Woodrow Wilson
2 JoshuaWillisAlexander.jpg Joshua W. Alexander Missouri December 16, 1919March 4, 1921
3 President Hoover portrait.jpg Herbert Hoover California March 5, 1921August 21, 1928 Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
4 WilliamFairfieldWhiting.jpg William F. Whiting Massachusetts August 22, 1928March 4, 1929
5 RobertPattersonLamont.jpg Robert P. Lamont Illinois March 5, 1929August 7, 1932 Herbert C. Hoover
6 RobertDikemanChapin.jpg Roy D. Chapin Michigan August 8, 1932March 3, 1933
7 Daniel Calhoun Roper pers0178.jpg Daniel C. Roper South Carolina March 4, 1933December 23, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt
8 Harry Lloyd Hopkins.jpg Harry Hopkins New York December 24, 1938September 18, 1940
9 Jesse Holman Jones pers0174.jpg Jesse H. Jones Texas September 19, 1940March 1, 1945
10 HenryAgardWallace.jpg Henry A. Wallace Iowa March 2, 1945September 20, 1946
Harry S. Truman
Alfred Schindler
Acting
September 20, 1946October 7, 1946
11 William Averell Harriman.png W. Averell Harriman New York October 7, 1946April 22, 1948
12 CharlesSawyer.jpg Charles W. Sawyer Ohio May 6, 1948January 20, 1953
13 CharlesSinclairWeeks.jpg Sinclair Weeks Massachusetts January 21, 1953November 10, 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss pers0164.jpg Lewis Strauss
Acting
West Virginia November 13, 1958June 30, 1959
14 Frederick Henry Mueller pers0162.jpg Frederick H. Mueller Michigan June 30, 1959August 10, 1959
August 10, 1959January 19, 1961
15 Luther Hodges.jpg Luther H. Hodges North Carolina January 21, 1961January 15, 1965 John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
16 JohnThomasConnor.jpg John T. Connor New Jersey January 18, 1965January 31, 1967
17 AlexanderBuelTrowbridge.jpg Alexander Trowbridge New York January 31, 1967June 14, 1967
June 14, 1967March 1, 1968
18 Cyrus Rowlett Smith pers0154.jpg C. R. Smith New York March 6, 1968January 19, 1969
19 Maurice Stans.jpg Maurice Stans New York January 21, 1969February 15, 1972 Richard Nixon
20 PeterGeorgePeterson.jpg Peter G. Peterson Illinois February 29, 1972February 1, 1973
21 FrederickBailyDent.jpg Frederick B. Dent South Carolina February 2, 1973March 26, 1975
Gerald Ford
22 RogersClarkBallardMorton.jpg Rogers Morton Maryland May 1, 1975February 2, 1976
23 ElliotLeeRichardson.jpg Elliot Richardson Massachusetts February 2, 1976January 20, 1977
24 Kreps-juanita-morris.png Juanita M. Kreps North Carolina January 23, 1977October 31, 1979 Jimmy Carter
Luther H. Hodges Jr.
Acting
North Carolina October 31, 1979January 9, 1980
25 PhilipMorrisKlutznick.jpg Philip Klutznick Illinois January 9, 1980January 20, 1981
26 Malcolm Baldridge pers0138.jpg Malcolm Baldrige Jr. Connecticut January 20, 1981July 25, 1987 Ronald Reagan
Bud Brown 97th Congress 1981.jpg Bud Brown
Acting
Ohio July 25, 1987October 19, 1987
27 CalvinWilliamVerity.jpg William Verity Jr. Ohio October 19, 1987January 30, 1989
28 RobertAdamMosbacher.jpg Robert Mosbacher Texas January 31, 1989January 15, 1992 George H. W. Bush
Rockwell A. Schnabel.png Rockwell A. Schnabel
Acting
California January 15, 1992February 27, 1992
29 BarbaraHackmanFranklin.jpg Barbara Franklin Pennsylvania February 27, 1992January 20, 1993
30 RonBrownUS.JPG Ron Brown New York January 20, 1993April 3, 1996 Bill Clinton
Mary Lowe Good - ACS2004 crop.jpg Mary L. Good
Acting
Texas April 3, 1996April 12, 1996
31 MichaelKantor.jpg Mickey Kantor Tennessee April 12, 1996January 21, 1997
32 DaleyWilliam.jpg William M. Daley Illinois January 30, 1997July 19, 2000
MallettRobert.jpg Robert L. Mallett
Acting
Texas July 19, 2000July 21, 2000
33 NormanYoshioMineta.jpg Norman Mineta California July 21, 2000January 20, 2001
34 Donald Evans.jpg Donald Evans Texas January 20, 2001February 7, 2005 George W. Bush
35 Carlos Gutierrez official portrait.jpg Carlos Gutierrez Florida February 7, 2005January 20, 2009
WolffOtto-c.jpg Otto J. Wolff
Acting
January 20, 2009March 26, 2009 Barack Obama
36 Gary Locke official portrait.jpg Gary Locke Washington March 26, 2009August 1, 2011
Rebecca Blank official portrait.jpg Rebecca Blank
Acting
Minnesota August 1, 2011October 21, 2011
37 John Bryson official portrait.jpg John Bryson New York October 21, 2011June 11, 2012
Rebecca Blank official portrait.jpg Rebecca Blank
Acting
Minnesota June 11, 2012June 1, 2013
Cameron Kerry official portrait.jpeg Cameron Kerry
Acting
Massachusetts June 1, 2013June 26, 2013
38 Penny Pritzker official portrait.jpg Penny Pritzker Illinois June 26, 2013January 20, 2017
VacantJanuary 20, 2017February 28, 2017 Donald Trump
39 Wilbur Ross headshot.jpg Wilbur Ross Florida February 28, 2017January 20, 2021
Wynn Coggins US Commerce Dept.jpg Wynn Coggins
Acting
January 20, 2021March 3, 2021 Joe Biden
40 Gina Raimondo (cropped 2).jpg Gina Raimondo Rhode Island March 3, 2021Incumbent

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of commerce is as follows: [7]

  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 Standards and Technology
  6. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  7. Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
  8. Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Administration
  9. Boulder Laboratories Site Manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology

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References

  1. 3 U.S.C.   § 19
  2. "US Department of Commerce, Directives Management Program". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  3. "Milestones". U.S. Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  4. 5 U.S.C.   § 5312
  5. "Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2021.
  6. Department of Commerce: Secretaries
  7. "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Commerce". federalregister.gov. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Secretary of Agriculture Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Commerce
Succeeded byas Secretary of Labor
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by 10th in line Succeeded by