From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture . The current secretary is Tom Vilsack , who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. [ 1] The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organizations. The 297,000 mi2 (770,000 km²) of national forests and grasslands are managed by the United States Forest Service .[ 2] The safety of food produced that are produced in the United States and sold here is ensured by the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service .[ 3] The Food Stamp Program works with the states to provide food to low-income people.[ 4] Advice for farmers and gardeners is provided by the United States Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service .[ 5]
The line of succession for the Secretary of Agriculture is as follows:[ 6]
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture
Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary
State Executive Directors of the Farm Service Agency (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the States of:
California
Iowa
Kansas
Regional Administrators of the Food and Nutrition Service (in order of seniority by length of unbroken tenure) for the:
Mountain Plains Regional Office (Denver , Colorado )
Midwest Regional Office (Chicago , Illinois )
Western Regional Office (San Francisco , California )
Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Agriculture
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations
In 2015, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack expressed the desire to resign to President Obama. The Washington Post reports that he said "There are days when I have literally nothing to do," he recalled thinking as he weighed his decision to quit."[ 7] President Obama asked him to stay and asked him to look into the problem of opioid addiction.[ 8]
Secretaries of Agriculture
The following is a list of Secretaries of Agriculture, since the creation of the office in 1889.[ 9]
Parties
Democratic
Republican
No.
Portrait
Name
State of Residence
Took Office
Left Office
President(s)
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 1
Norman J. Coleman
Missouri
February 15, 1889
March 6, 1889
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Grover Cleveland
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 2
Jeremiah M. Rusk
Wisconsin
March 6, 1889
March 6, 1893
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Benjamin Harrison
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 3
J. Sterling Morton
Nebraska
March 7, 1893
March 5, 1897
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Grover Cleveland
rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 4
James Wilson
Iowa
March 5, 1897
March 3, 1913
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
William McKinley
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Theodore Roosevelt
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
William Howard Taft
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 5
David F. Houston
Missouri
March 6, 1913
February 2, 1920
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Woodrow Wilson
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 6
Edwin T. Meredith
Iowa
February 2, 1920
March 4, 1921
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 7
Henry C. Wallace
Iowa
March 5, 1921
October 25, 1924
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Warren G. Harding
rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Calvin Coolidge
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 8
Howard M. Gore
West Virginia
November 22, 1924
March 4, 1925
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 9
William M. Jardine
Kansas
March 5, 1925
March 4, 1929
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 10
Arthur M. Hyde
Missouri
March 6, 1929
March 4, 1933
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Herbert Hoover
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 11
Henry A. Wallace
Iowa
March 4, 1933
September 4, 1940
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Franklin D. Roosevelt
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 12
Claude R. Wickard
Indiana
September 5, 1940
June 29, 1945
rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Harry S. Truman
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 13
Clinton P. Anderson
New Mexico
June 30, 1945
May 10, 1948
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 14
Charles F. Brannan
Colorado
June 2, 1948
January 20, 1953
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 15
Ezra Taft Benson
Utah
January 21, 1953
January 20, 1961
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Dwight D. Eisenhower
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 16
Orville L. Freeman
Minnesota
January 21, 1961
January 20, 1969
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
John F. Kennedy
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Lyndon B. Johnson
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 17
Clifford M. Hardin
Nebraska
January 21, 1969
November 17, 1971
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Richard Nixon
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 18
Earl L. Butz
Indiana
December 2, 1971
October 4, 1976
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Gerald Ford
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 19
John A. Knebel
Oklahoma
November 4, 1976
January 20, 1977
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 20
Robert Bergland
Minnesota
January 23, 1977
January 20, 1981
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Jimmy Carter
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 21
John R. Block
Illinois
January 23, 1981
February 14, 1986
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Ronald Reagan
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 22
Richard E. Lyng
California
March 7, 1986
January 21, 1989
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 23
Clayton K. Yeutter
Nebraska
February 16, 1989
March 1, 1991
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
George H. W. Bush
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 24
Edward R. Madigan
Illinois
March 8, 1991
January 20, 1993
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 25
Mike Espy
Mississippi
January 22, 1993
December 31, 1994
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Bill Clinton
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 26
Dan Glickman
Kansas
March 30, 1995
January 20, 2001
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 27
Ann M. Veneman
California
January 20, 2001
January 20, 2005
rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
George W. Bush
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 28
Mike Johanns
Nebraska
January 21, 2005
September 20, 2007
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 29
Ed Schafer
North Dakota
January 28, 2008
January 20, 2009
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" | 30
Tom Vilsack
Iowa
January 20, 2009
Incumbent
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color ;" |
Barack Obama
As of November 2024, there are nine living former Secretaries of Agriculture, the oldest being Robert Bergland (served 1977-1981, born 1928). The most recent Secretary of Agriculture to die was Clifford M. Hardin (served 1969–1971, born 1915), on April 4, 2010. The most recently serving Secretary to die was Edward Rell Madigan (1991-1993, born 1936) on December 7, 1994.
Name
Term of office
Date of birth (and age)
John A. Knebel
1976–1977
(1936-10-04 ) October 4, 1936 (age 88)
Robert Bergland
1977–1981
(1928-07-22 ) July 22, 1928 (age 96)
John R. Block
1981–1986
(1935-02-15 ) February 15, 1935 (age 89)
Clayton K. Yeutter
1989–1991
(1930-12-10 ) December 10, 1930 (age 93)
Mike Espy
1993–1994
(1953-11-30 ) November 30, 1953 (age 70)
Dan Glickman
1995–2001
(1944-11-24 ) November 24, 1944 (age 79)
Ann Veneman
2001–2005
(1949-06-29 ) June 29, 1949 (age 75)
Mike Johanns
2005–2007
(1950-06-18 ) June 18, 1950 (age 74)
Ed Schafer
2008–2009
(1946-08-08 ) August 8, 1946 (age 78)
References
External links
* Ineligible to
act as president • ** Ambiguity exists concerning eligibility to act as president