United States Secretary of Commerce
Head of the U.S. Department of Commerce
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]
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
Independent (1)
Democratic (20)
Republican (18)
Status
Denotes
acting commerce secretary
No.
Portrait
Name[ 6]
State of residence
Took office
Left office
President(s)
1
William C. Redfield
New York
March 5, 1913
October 31, 1919
Woodrow Wilson
2
Joshua W. Alexander
Missouri
December 16, 1919
March 4, 1921
3
Herbert Hoover
California
March 5, 1921
August 21, 1928
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
4
William F. Whiting
Massachusetts
August 22, 1928
March 4, 1929
5
Robert P. Lamont
Illinois
March 5, 1929
August 7, 1932
Herbert C. Hoover
6
Roy D. Chapin
Michigan
August 8, 1932
March 3, 1933
7
Daniel C. Roper
South Carolina
March 4, 1933
December 23, 1938
Franklin D. Roosevelt
8
Harry Hopkins
New York
December 24, 1938
September 18, 1940
9
Jesse H. Jones
Texas
September 19, 1940
March 1, 1945
10
Henry A. Wallace
Iowa
March 2, 1945
September 20, 1946
Harry S. Truman
–
Alfred Schindler Acting
September 20, 1946
October 7, 1946
11
W. Averell Harriman
New York
October 7, 1946
April 22, 1948
12
Charles W. Sawyer
Ohio
May 6, 1948
January 20, 1953
13
Sinclair Weeks
Massachusetts
January 21, 1953
November 10, 1958
Dwight D. Eisenhower
14
Lewis Strauss
New York
November 13, 1958
June 30, 1959
15
Frederick H. Mueller
Michigan
June 30, 1959
August 10, 1959
August 10, 1959
January 19, 1961
16
Luther H. Hodges
North Carolina
January 21, 1961
January 15, 1965
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
17
John T. Connor
New Jersey
January 18, 1965
January 31, 1967
18
Alexander Trowbridge
New York
January 31, 1967
June 14, 1967
June 14, 1967
March 1, 1968
19
C. R. Smith
New York
March 6, 1968
January 19, 1969
20
Maurice Stans
New York
January 21, 1969
February 15, 1972
Richard Nixon
21
Peter G. Peterson
Illinois
February 29, 1972
February 1, 1973
22
Frederick B. Dent
South Carolina
February 2, 1973
March 26, 1975
Gerald Ford
23
Rogers Morton
Maryland
May 1, 1975
February 2, 1976
24
Elliot Richardson
Massachusetts
February 2, 1976
January 20, 1977
25
Juanita M. Kreps
North Carolina
January 23, 1977
October 31, 1979
Jimmy Carter
–
Luther H. Hodges Jr. Acting
North Carolina
October 31, 1979
January 9, 1980
26
Philip Klutznick
Illinois
January 9, 1980
January 20, 1981
27
Malcolm Baldrige Jr.
Connecticut
January 20, 1981
July 25, 1987
Ronald Reagan
–
Bud Brown Acting
Ohio
July 25, 1987
October 19, 1987
28
William Verity Jr.
Ohio
October 19, 1987
January 30, 1989
29
Robert Mosbacher
Texas
January 31, 1989
January 15, 1992
George H. W. Bush
–
Rockwell A. Schnabel Acting
California
January 15, 1992
February 27, 1992
30
Barbara Franklin
Pennsylvania
February 27, 1992
January 20, 1993
31
Ron Brown
New York
January 20, 1993
April 3, 1996
Bill Clinton
–
Mary L. Good Acting
Texas
April 3, 1996
April 12, 1996
32
Mickey Kantor
Tennessee
April 12, 1996
January 21, 1997
33
William M. Daley
Illinois
January 30, 1997
July 19, 2000
–
Robert L. Mallett Acting
Texas
July 19, 2000
July 21, 2000
34
Norman Mineta
California
July 21, 2000
January 20, 2001
35
Donald Evans
Texas
January 20, 2001
February 7, 2005
George W. Bush
36
Carlos Gutierrez
Florida
February 7, 2005
January 20, 2009
–
Otto J. Wolff Acting
January 20, 2009
March 26, 2009
Barack Obama
37
Gary Locke
Washington
March 26, 2009
August 1, 2011
–
Rebecca Blank Acting
Minnesota
August 1, 2011
October 21, 2011
38
John Bryson
New York
October 21, 2011
June 11, 2012
–
Rebecca Blank Acting
Minnesota
June 11, 2012
June 1, 2013
–
Cameron Kerry Acting
Massachusetts
June 1, 2013
June 26, 2013
39
Penny Pritzker
Illinois
June 26, 2013
January 20, 2017
–
Vacant
January 20, 2017
February 28, 2017
Donald J. Trump
40
Wilbur L. Ross Jr.
Florida
February 28, 2017
January 20, 2021
–
Wynn Coggins Acting
January 20, 2021
March 3, 2021
Joe Biden
41
Gina Raimondo
Rhode Island
March 3, 2021
Incumbent
Line of succession
The line of succession for the secretary of commerce is as follows:[ 7]
Deputy Secretary of Commerce
General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Administration
Boulder Laboratories Site Manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology
References
External links
Links to related articles
* Ineligible to
act as president • ** Ambiguity exists concerning eligibility to act as president