United States Secretary of Energy

Secretary of Energy of the United States of America
Seal of the Department of Energy
Flag of the Secretary of Energy
Incumbent Rick Perry since March 3, 2017
United States Department of Energy
Style	Mr. Secretary
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	The President
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	42 U.S.C. § 7131
Formation	August 6, 1977
First holder	James R. Schlesinger
Succession	Fourteenth in the United States Presidential Line of Succession
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Energy
Salary	Executive Schedule, level 1
Website	www.doe.gov

The United States Secretary of Energy is the head of the U.S. Department of Energy, a member of the U.S. President's Cabinet, and Fourteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was formed on October 1, 1977 with the creation of the Department of Energy when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act. Originally the post focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better, more efficient energy sources as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and maintenance of environmental quality. The current Secretary of Energy is Rick Perry, who was confirmed by the Senate 62-37 on March 2, 2017.

Former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger was the first Secretary of Energy, who was a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, the only time a president has appointed someone of another party to the post. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post. Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton's first Secretary of Energy, was first female and African-American holder. The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second, Federico Peña. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under the administration of Barack Obama. He is also the first and only Nobel Prize winner to be a Cabinet secretary and the longest-serving Secretary of Energy.

Secretaries of Energy

Parties

      Democratic       Republican

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	Party	President(s)
1		James R. Schlesinger	Virginia	August 6, 1977	August 23, 1979	Republican		Jimmy Carter
2	75px	Charles W. Duncan, Jr.	Texas	August 24, 1979	January 20, 1981	Democratic
3	75px	James B. Edwards	South Carolina	January 23, 1981	November 5, 1982	Republican		Ronald Reagan
4		Donald P. Hodel	Oregon	November 5, 1982	February 7, 1985	Republican
5		John S. Herrington	California	February 7, 1985	January 20, 1989	Republican
6		James D. Watkins	California	March 1, 1989	January 20, 1993	Republican		George H. W. Bush
7	75px	Hazel R. O'Leary	Virginia	January 22, 1993	January 20, 1997	Democratic		Bill Clinton
8	75px	Federico F. Peña	Colorado	March 12, 1997	June 30, 1998	Democratic
9		William B. Richardson	New Mexico	August 18, 1998	January 20, 2001	Democratic
10	75px	Spencer Abraham	Michigan	January 20, 2001	February 1, 2005	Republican		George W. Bush
11	75px	Samuel W. Bodman	Illinois	February 1, 2005	January 20, 2009	Republican
12		Steven Chu	California	January 20, 2009	April 22, 2013	Democratic		Barack Obama
13	75px	Ernest Moniz	Massachusetts	May 21, 2013	January 20, 2017	Democratic
14		Rick Perry	Texas	March 2, 2017	Incumbent	Republican		Donald Trump

See also

• United States Secretary of Transportation
• White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy

External links

United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (ineligible)	15th in line	Succeeded by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos