United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; 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 Department of Labor, which is now headed by a separate Secretary of Labor.[3]
| United States Secretary of Commerce | |
|---|---|
| 120px Seal of the U.S. Department of Commerce | |
| 130px Flag of the secretary | |
| United States Department of Commerce | |
| Style | Madam Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal) |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Reports to | President of the United States |
| Seat | Herbert C. Hoover Building, Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer | President of the United States with United States Senate advice and consent |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | 15 U.S.C. § 1501 |
| Precursor | Secretary of Commerce and Labor |
| Formation | March 5, 1913 |
| First holder | William C. Redfield |
| Succession | Tenth[1] |
| Deputy | Deputy Secretary of Commerce |
| Salary | Executive Schedule, Level I |
| Website | Commerce.gov |
List of U.S. secretaries of commerce
- Parties
Independent (1) Democratic (21) Republican (19)
- Status
Denotes acting commerce secretary
| No. | Portrait | Name[4] | State of residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:WilliamCoxRedfield.jpg | William C. Redfield | New York | March 5, 1913 | October 31, 1919 | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) | |
| 2 | 75px | Joshua W. Alexander | Missouri | December 16, 1919 | March 4, 1921 | ||
| 3 | 75px | Herbert Hoover | California | March 5, 1921 | August 21, 1928 | Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) | |
| Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) | |||||||
| 4 | 75px | William F. Whiting | Massachusetts | August 22, 1928 | March 4, 1929 | ||
| 5 | 75px | Robert P. Lamont | Illinois | March 5, 1929 | August 7, 1932 | Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) | |
| 6 | 75px | Roy D. Chapin | Michigan | August 8, 1932 | March 3, 1933 | ||
| 7 | 75px | Daniel C. Roper | South Carolina | March 4, 1933 | December 23, 1938 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) | |
| 8 | 75px | Harry Hopkins | New York | December 24, 1938 | September 18, 1940 | ||
| 9 | 75px | Jesse H. Jones | Texas | September 19, 1940 | March 1, 1945 | ||
| 10 | 75px | Henry A. Wallace | Iowa | March 2, 1945 | September 20, 1946 | ||
| Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) | |||||||
| – | 75px | Alfred Schindler Acting |
Missouri | September 20, 1946 | October 7, 1946 | ||
| 11 | 75px | W. Averell Harriman | New York | October 7, 1946 | April 22, 1948 | ||
| 12 | 75px | Charles W. Sawyer | Ohio | May 6, 1948 | January 20, 1953 | ||
| 13 | File:CharlesSinclairWeeks.jpg | Sinclair Weeks | Massachusetts | January 21, 1953 | November 10, 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) | |
| - | 75px | Lewis Strauss | New York | November 13, 1958 | June 30, 1959 | ||
| 14 | 75px | Frederick H. Mueller | Michigan | June 30, 1959 | August 10, 1959 | ||
| August 10, 1959 | January 19, 1961 | ||||||
| 15 | 75px | Luther H. Hodges | North Carolina | January 21, 1961 | January 15, 1965 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) | |
| Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) | |||||||
| 16 | 75px | John T. Connor | New Jersey | January 18, 1965 | January 31, 1967 | ||
| 17 | 75px | Alexander Trowbridge | New York | January 31, 1967 | June 14, 1967 | ||
| June 14, 1967 | March 1, 1968 | ||||||
| 18 | 75px | C. R. Smith | New York | March 6, 1968 | January 19, 1969 | ||
| 19 | 75px | Maurice Stans | New York | January 21, 1969 | February 15, 1972 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) | |
| 20 | 75px | Peter G. Peterson | Illinois | February 29, 1972 | February 1, 1973 | ||
| 21 | 75px | Frederick B. Dent | South Carolina | February 2, 1973 | March 26, 1975 | ||
| Gerald Ford (1974–1977) | |||||||
| 22 | 75px | Rogers Morton | Maryland | May 1, 1975 | February 2, 1976 | ||
| 23 | 75px | Elliot Richardson | Massachusetts | February 2, 1976 | January 20, 1977 | ||
| 24 | File:Kreps-juanita-morris.png | Juanita M. Kreps | North Carolina | January 23, 1977 | October 31, 1979 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) | |
| – | Luther H. Hodges Jr. Acting |
North Carolina | October 31, 1979 | January 9, 1980 | |||
| 25 | 75px | Philip Klutznick | Illinois | January 9, 1980 | January 20, 1981 | ||
| 26 | 75px | Malcolm Baldrige Jr. | Connecticut | January 20, 1981 | July 25, 1987 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) | |
| – | File:Bud Brown 97th Congress 1981.jpg | Bud Brown Acting |
Ohio | July 25, 1987 | October 19, 1987 | ||
| 27 | 75px | William Verity Jr. | Ohio | October 19, 1987 | January 30, 1989 | ||
| 28 | File:RobertAdamMosbacher.jpg | Robert Mosbacher | Texas | January 31, 1989 | January 15, 1992 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) | |
| – | 75px | Rockwell A. Schnabel Acting |
California | January 15, 1992 | February 27, 1992 | ||
| 29 | File:BarbaraHackmanFranklin.jpg | Barbara Franklin | Pennsylvania | February 27, 1992 | January 20, 1993 | ||
| 30 | 75px | Ron Brown | New York | January 20, 1993 | April 3, 1996 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) | |
| – | 75px | Mary L. Good Acting |
Texas | April 3, 1996 | April 12, 1996 | ||
| 31 | 75px | Mickey Kantor | Tennessee | April 12, 1996 | January 21, 1997 | ||
| 32 | 75px | William M. Daley | Illinois | January 30, 1997 | July 19, 2000 | ||
| – | File:MallettRobert.jpg | Robert L. Mallett Acting |
Texas | July 19, 2000 | July 21, 2000 | ||
| 33 | 75px | Norman Mineta | California | July 21, 2000 | January 20, 2001 | ||
| 34 | 75px | Donald Evans | Texas | January 20, 2001 | February 7, 2005 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) | |
| 35 | 75px | Carlos Gutierrez | Florida | February 7, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | ||
| – | 75px | Otto J. Wolff Acting |
January 20, 2009 | March 26, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) | ||
| 36 | File:Gary Locke official portrait.jpg | Gary Locke | Washington | March 26, 2009 | August 1, 2011 | ||
| – | 75px | Rebecca Blank Acting |
Minnesota | August 1, 2011 | October 21, 2011 | ||
| 37 | File:John Bryson official portrait.jpg | John Bryson | New York | October 21, 2011 | June 11, 2012 | ||
| – | 75px | Rebecca Blank Acting |
Minnesota | June 11, 2012 | June 1, 2013 | ||
| – | 75px | Cameron Kerry Acting |
Massachusetts | June 1, 2013 | June 26, 2013 | ||
| 38 | 75px | Penny Pritzker | Illinois | June 26, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | ||
| – | Vacant | January 20, 2017 | February 28, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) | |||
| 39 | 75px | Wilbur Ross | Florida | February 28, 2017 | January 20, 2021 | ||
| – | Wynn Coggins Acting |
Virginia | January 20, 2021 | March 3, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) | ||
| 40 | 100x100px | Gina Raimondo | Rhode Island | March 3, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | ||
| – | 80px | Jeremy Pelter Acting |
January 20, 2025 | February 19, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) | ||
| 41 | 75px | Howard Lutnick | New York | February 19, 2025 | Incumbent | ||
Living former secretaries of commerce
As of September 2025, there are nine living former secretaries of agriculture, the oldest being Wilbur Ross (served 2017-2021). The most recent death of a former secretary of state was that of John Bryson (served 2011-2012) on May 13, 2025.
Barbara Franklin
(1992-1993)Mickey Kantor
(1996-1997)- William M. Daley official portrait (cropped) 2.jpg
William M. Daley
(1997-2000) - Donald Evans.jpg
Donald Evans
(2001-2005) - Carlos Gutierrez official portrait.jpg
Carlos Gutierrez
(2005-2009) - Gary Locke official portrait (cropped).jpg
Gary Locke
(2009-2011) - Penny Pritzker official portrait.jpg
Penny Pritzker
(2013-2017) Wilbur Ross
(2017-2021)- Gina Raimondo (cropped 2).jpg
Gina Raimondo
(2021-2025)
United States Secretary Of Commerce Media
- Commerce Building Secretary's Office.jpg
The Commerce Secretary's office as it looked in the mid-20th century.
References
- ↑ 3 U.S.C. § 19
- ↑ ""US Department of Commerce, Directives Management Program"". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
- ↑ ""Department of Commerce - Milestones"". Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
- ↑ Department of Commerce: Secretaries