U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government. The SEC was created during the aftermath of "Black Tuesday". Its purpose is to protect investors and enforce laws regarding the stock market.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of Corruption
Seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
US Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Agency overview
Formed	June 6, 1934 (1934-06-06)
Jurisdiction	United States federal government
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Employees	4,301 (2015)
Website
www.sec.gov

Purpose

The SEC holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other activities and organizations, including the electronic securities markets in the United States.

In addition to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which created it, the SEC enforces the Securities Act of 1933, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and other statutes. The SEC was created by Section 4 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (now codified as 15 U.S.C. § 78d and commonly referred to as the Exchange Act or the 1934 Act).

Chairs

Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was the first Chair of the SEC. Later SEC commissioners and chairmen include William O. Douglas, Jerome Frank (one of the leaders of the legal realism movement), and William J. Casey (who later headed the Central Intelligence Agency under President Ronald Reagan).

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residency	Term of office			Appointed by
				Term start	Term end	Time in office
1		Kennedy Sr., Joseph P.Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.	Massachusetts	June 30, 1934	September 23, 1935	1 year, 85 days	Roosevelt
2		Landis, James M.James M. Landis	Massachusetts	September 23, 1935	September 15, 1937	1 year, 357 days	Roosevelt
3		Douglas, William O.William O. Douglas	Connecticut	August 17, 1937	April 15, 1939	1 year, 241 days	Roosevelt
4		Frank, JeromeJerome Frank	Illinois	May 18, 1939	April 9, 1941	1 year, 326 days	Roosevelt
5		Eicher, Edward C.Edward C. Eicher	Iowa	April 9, 1941	January 20, 1942	286 days	Roosevelt
6		Purcell, GansonGanson Purcell		January 20, 1942	June 30, 1946	4 years, 161 days	Roosevelt
7		Caffrey, James J.James J. Caffrey		July 23, 1946	December 31, 1947	1 year, 161 days	Truman
8		Hanrahan, Edmond M.Edmond M. Hanrahan	New York	May 18, 1948	November 3, 1949	1 year, 169 days	Truman
9		McDonald, Harry A.Harry A. McDonald		November 4, 1949	February 25, 1952	2 years, 113 days	Truman
10		Cook, Donald C.Donald C. Cook	Michigan	February 26, 1952	June 17, 1953	1 year, 111 days	Truman
11		Demmler, Ralph H.Ralph H. Demmler	Pennsylvania	June 27, 1953	May 25, 1955	1 year, 332 days	Eisenhower
12		Armstrong, J. SinclairJ. Sinclair Armstrong	New York	May 25, 1955	June 27, 1957	2 years, 33 days	Eisenhower
13		Gadsby, Edward N.Edward N. Gadsby	Massachusetts	August 20, 1957	March 26, 1961	3 years, 218 days	Eisenhower
14		Cary, William L.William L. Cary		March 27, 1961	August 20, 1964	3 years, 146 days	Kennedy
15		Cohen, Manuel F.Manuel F. Cohen		August 20, 1964	February 22, 1969	4 years, 186 days	Johnson
16		Budge, Hamer H.Hamer H. Budge	Idaho	February 22, 1969	January 2, 1971	1 year, 314 days	Nixon
17		Casey, William J.William J. Casey	New York	April 14, 1971	February 2, 1973	1 year, 294 days	Nixon
18		Cook, G. BradfordG. Bradford Cook	Nebraska	March 3, 1973	May 16, 1973	74 days	Nixon
19		Garrett Jr., RayRay Garrett Jr.	Illinois	August 6, 1973	October 28, 1975	2 years, 83 days	Nixon
20		Hills, Roderick M.Roderick M. Hills	California	October 28, 1975	April 10, 1977	1 year, 164 days	Ford
21		Williams, Harold M.Harold M. Williams	California	April 18, 1977	March 1, 1981	3 years, 317 days	Carter
22		Shad, John S. R.John S. R. Shad		May 6, 1981	June 18, 1987	6 years, 43 days	Reagan
23		Ruder, David SturtevantDavid Sturtevant Ruder	Illinois	August 7, 1987	September 30, 1989	2 years, 54 days	Reagan
24		Breeden, Richard C.Richard C. Breeden	New York	October 11, 1989	May 7, 1993	3 years, 208 days	Bush Sr.
–		Schapiro, MaryMary Schapiro (acting)	New York	May 7, 1993	July 27, 1993	81 days	Clinton
25		Levitt, ArthurArthur Levitt	New York	July 27, 1993	February 9, 2001	7 years, 227 days	Clinton
26		Pitt, HarveyHarvey Pitt	New York	August 3, 2001	February 18, 2003	1 year, 199 days	Bush Jr.
27		Donaldson, William H.William H. Donaldson	New York	February 18, 2003	June 30, 2005	2 years, 132 days	Bush Jr.
28		Cox, ChristopherChristopher Cox	California	August 3, 2005	January 20, 2009	3 years, 170 days	Bush Jr.
29		Schapiro, MaryMary Schapiro	New York	January 27, 2009	December 14, 2012	3 years, 322 days	Obama
30		Walter, Elisse B.Elisse B. Walter	New York	December 14, 2012	April 10, 2013	117 days	Obama
31		White, Mary JoMary Jo White	New York	April 10, 2013	January 20, 2017	3 years, 285 days	Obama
–		Piwowar, MichaelMichael Piwowar (acting)	Washington D.C.	January 20, 2017	May 4, 2017	104 days	Trump
32		Clayton, JayJay Clayton	Pennsylvania	May 4, 2017	December 23, 2020	3 years, 233 days	Trump
–		Roisman, EladElad Roisman (acting)	Washington D.C.	December 24, 2020	January 20, 2021	27 days	Trump
–		Lee, AllisonAllison Lee (acting)	Washington D.C.	January 20, 2021	April 17, 2021	87 days	Biden
33		Gensler, GaryGary Gensler	Maryland	April 17, 2021	January 20, 2025	3 years, 278 days	Biden
–		Uyeda, MarkMark Uyeda (acting)	California	January 20, 2025	Incumbent	294 days	Trump
Nominee		Atkins, Paul S.Paul S. Atkins	North Carolina	TBD			Trump

U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission Media

• 

  Joseph P. Kennedy Sr, the inaugural chairman of the SEC

Other websites

• Official website
• SEC in the Federal Register
• Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society
• Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni (ASECA)