Secretary of Transportation: Difference between revisions

The first secretary of transportation was [[Alan S. Boyd]], nominated to the post by Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson. [[Ronald Reagan]]'s second secretary of transportation, [[Elizabeth Dole]], was the first female holder, and Mary Peters was the second. [[Gerald Ford]]'s nominee [[William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.]] was the first African American to serve as transportation secretary, and [[Federico Peña]], serving under [[Bill Clinton]], was the first Hispanic to hold the position, subsequently becoming the [[Secretary of Energy|secretary of energy]]. Japanese-American [[Norman Mineta]], who had previously been the [[Secretary of Commerce|secretary of commerce]], is the longest-serving secretary, holding the post for over five and a half years,<ref name="DOTHist" /> and [[Andrew Card]] is the shortest-serving secretary, serving only eleven months. [[Pete Buttigieg]] is the youngest secretary, taking office at 39 years 15 days old, overtaking [[Neil Goldschmidt]] as the youngest secretary, taking office at 39 years 3 months old,<ref name=CNBC>{{cite web|last1=Josephs|first1=Leslie|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/pete-buttigieg-confirmed-by-senate-as-biden-transportation-secretary.html|title=Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary|publisher=[[CNBC]] |accessdate=26 January 2023|date=2 February 2021}}</ref> while Norman Mineta was the oldest, retiring at age 74.<ref name="DOTBio">{{cite web|url=http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm |title=Biographical Sketches of the Secretaries of Transportation |date=August 14, 2009 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316065145/http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm |archive-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref> <!-- Brief history and general description of dept/sec --> In April 2008, [[Mary E. Peters|Mary Peters]] launched the official blog of the secretary of transportation called ''The Fast Lane''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/chronology.htm |title=A Chronology of Dates Significant in the Background, History and Development of the Department of Transportation |date=August 14, 2009 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215013503/http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/chronology.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2008 }}</ref> On January 23, 2009, the 16th secretary, [[Ray LaHood]], took office, serving under the administration of Democrat [[Barack Obama]]; he had previously been a Republican congressman from Illinois for fourteen years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dot.gov/bios/lahood.htm|title=Ray LaHood—Secretary of Transportation|date=July 22, 2009|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=January 3, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928155617/http://www.dot.gov/bios/lahood.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==List of secretaries of transportation==

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