Secretary of Energy: Difference between revisions

The '''United States secretary of energy''' is the head of the [[United States Department of Energy]], a member of the [[Cabinet of the United States]], and fifteenth in the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]]. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President [[Jimmy Carter]] signed the Department of Energy Organization Act, establishing the department.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.energy.gov/about/origins.htm|title=Origins |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Energy]]|access-date=July 29, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712133033/http://energy.gov/about/origins.htm|archive-date=July 12, 2007}}</ref> The energy secretary and the department originally focused on [[Energy development|energy production]] and [[Energy law|regulation]]. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the [[Cold War]], the department's attention also turned toward [[High-level radioactive waste management|radioactive waste disposal]] and the maintenance of [[environmental quality]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/admin/admin.htm|title=The Clinton Administration |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=July 29, 2007|date=February 18, 2000}}</ref> Former [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] [[James R. Schlesinger|James Schlesinger]] served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/schlesinger.htm |title=Biography of James Schlesinger Origins |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|access-date=August 13, 2007}}</ref> [[Hazel R. O'Leary|Hazel O'Leary]], [[Bill Clinton]]'s first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fisk.edu/fisk_headlines/august/stories/oleary.htm |title=President Hazel R. O'Leary Honored by Urban League|publisher=[[Fisk University]]|access-date=August 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927221149/http://www.fisk.edu/fisk_headlines/august/stories/oleary.htm|archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref> The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second energy secretary, [[Federico Peña]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.osti.gov/news/releases97/marpr/pr97015.html |title=Federico F. Peña to be Sworn in as the Eighth Secretary of Energy |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy |access-date=August 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102826/http://www.osti.gov/news/releases97/marpr/pr97015.html|archive-date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> [[Spencer Abraham]] became the first [[Arab Americans|Arab American]] to hold the position on January 20, 2001, serving under the administration of [[George W. Bush]]. [[Steven Chu]] became the first [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president [[Barack Obama]]. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a [[Nobel Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rudin |first=Ken |date=2008-12-15 |title=npr.org |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2008/12/nobel_prize_winners_in_the_cab.html |archive-url= |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=NPR}}</ref>