United States Under Secretary of Commerce

Seal of the United States Department of Commerce

A United States Under Secretary of Commerce is one of several positions in the United States Department of Commerce, serving under the United States Secretary of Commerce.

History

In June 1939, Edward J. Noble was appointed the first Under Secretary of Commerce[1] a role created especially for him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that had a salary of $10,000 per year.[2] He was succeeded by Wayne Chatfield-Taylor, the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury who later served as president of the Export-Import Bank.[3] The role was later held by various prominent people, including Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (under President Truman),[4] and Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson), when the job had a salary of $21,000 per year.[5][6] On December 13, 1979, President Jimmy Carter replaced the role of Under Secretary, which was then held by Luther H. Hodges Jr., with United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce, and Hodges became the first holder.[7]

Transportation

In 1950, President Truman proposed transferring the functions of the Maritime Commission to the Department of Commerce to be led by the newly created Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation.[8] Truman had created Civil Aeronautics Administration and transferred the Bureau of Public Roads within the department the previous year. In 1966, all transportation activities of Commerce were moved to the newly established United States Department of Transportation, which was led by former Under Secretary Alan Stephenson Boyd.[9]

Current positions

The Under Secretary positions are:[10]

Former Under Secretaries

List of former Under Secretaries of Commerce

Image Name[12] Term Began Term Ended President(s) served under
Edward J. Noble 1939 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wayne Chatfield-Taylor 1940 1945
Alfred Schindler 1945 1946 Harry S. Truman
William Chapman Foster 1946[13][14] 1948[15]
Charles W. Sawyer 1948 1949
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney 1949[16] 1950
W. Walter Williams 1952[17] 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Philip A. Ray 1959[18] 1961
Edward Gudeman 1961[19] 1963[20] John F. Kennedy
Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. 1963 1965 John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
LeRoy Collins 1965 1966 Lyndon B. Johnson
Howard J. Samuels 1967 1969
Joseph W. Bartlett 1968[21] 1969
Rocco C. Siciliano 1969[22] 1971[23][24] Richard Nixon
James Thomas Lynn 1971[25] 1973
John K. Tabor 1973[26] 1975[27] Gerald Ford
James Baker 1975[28] 1976
Edward O. Vetter 1976[29] 1977
Sidney Harman 1977 1978 Jimmy Carter
Luther H. Hodges Jr. 1978[30] 1979

List of former Under Secretaries of Commerce for Transportation

Image Name[12] Term Began Term Ended President(s) served under
Philip B. Fleming 1950[31] 1951[32] Harry S. Truman
Delos W. Rentzel 1951[32] 1951[33]
Jack Garrett Scott 1952[34][35] 1953[36]
Robert B. Murray Jr. 1953[37] 1955 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Louis S. Rothschild 1955[38] 1958[12]
John J. Allen Jr. 1959 1961
Clarence D. Martin Jr. 1961 1965[39] John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Alan Stephenson Boyd 1965[40] 1966 Lyndon B. Johnson

References

  1. ^ "The Noble Family". Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  2. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (10 June 1939). "NOBLE ENTERS NEW POST; Sworn in as the First Under Secretary of Commerce". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ^ Times, Special to The New York TimesThe New York (23 November 1967). "Wayne Chatfield Taylor Dead; Roosevelt and Truman Aide, 73; Banker Held Major Posts in Commerce, Treasury and the Export-Import Bank In Many Public Posts Envoy at Trade Meetings". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. ^ Egan, Charles E. (28 March 1950). "C.V. Whitney Offers Resignation As Under Secretary of Commerce; OFFERS TO RESIGN". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Franklin Roosevelt Jr. Named Under Secretary of Commerce; Post Pays $21,000 a Year --Holton, a Hodges Aide, Given Higher Post F.D. ROOSEVELT JR. IS NAMED TO POST". The New York Times. 1 February 1963. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Letters to The Times; Recovery for Appalachia; Under Secretary of Commerce Cites Plan for Attacking Poverty". The New York Times. 2 April 1964. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  7. ^ Smith, Terence (17 November 1979). "A Chicago Developer Named Commerce Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  8. ^ "A New Commerce Department". The New York Times. 14 March 1950. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  9. ^ Morris, John D. (2 October 1966). "SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION; 12th Man Joining the Cabinet". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Leadership". www.commerce.gov. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  11. ^ "US CODE: Title 15,1503a. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs". Retrieved September 22, 2007.
  12. ^ a b c "General Records of the Department of Commerce". www.archives.gov. National Archives. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  13. ^ "W.C. Foster Gets Commerce Office; in Commerce Post". The New York Times. 30 November 1946. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Foster Takes Commerce Post". The New York Times. 6 December 1946. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Foster Resigns Commerce Post". The New York Times. 21 May 1948. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Changes Federal Post". The New York Times. 25 February 1949. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Senate Unit Backs 3 for Commerce Jobs". The New York Times. 24 January 1953. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  18. ^ "COMMERCE AIDE BACKED; Philip Ray Is Confirmed as the Under Secretary". The New York Times. 28 August 1959. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Senators Approve Williams for Post". The New York Times. 31 January 1961. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Commerce Aide to Resign". The New York Times. 16 January 1963. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Commerce Aide Named". The New York Times. 26 July 1968. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  22. ^ Semple Jr, Robert B. (18 January 1969). "Most Nixon Aides in Top Echelons Still Unnamed; Large Gaps Remain in Some Key Federal Agencies". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Washington: For the Record". The New York Times. 3 March 1971. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Rocco C. Siciliano Business". The New York Times. 23 October 1971. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  25. ^ "Washington: For the Record". The New York Times. 27 April 1971. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  26. ^ Apple Jr, R. W. (30 May 1973). "President Will Not Testify In Inquiries on Watergate". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  27. ^ Honan, William H. (September 12, 1999). "John K. Tabor, 78, Lawyer and Official In Commerce Dept". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Pittsburgh Businessman Ford Treasury Nominee". The Leader-Times. Kittanning, PA. United Press International. July 23, 1975. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "President Ford Wednesday Nominated Edward O. Vetter of Dallas, Tex., to be undersecretary of commerce". Santa Ana Register. Santa Ana, CA. June 24, 1976. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Son of Ex‐Secretary Picked". The New York Times. 6 March 1979. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  31. ^ Nominations to United States Maritime Commission and to Federal Maritime Board. United States Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. 28 June 1950. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  32. ^ a b "Rentzel Is Confirmed for Commerce Post". The New York Times. 18 April 1951. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  33. ^ "Rentzel Resigns as Sawyer's Aide; Leaves Commerce Post". The New York Times. 13 November 1951. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  34. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (24 April 1952). "BENDETSEN NAMED UNDER SECRETARY". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Scott Sworn as Commerce Aide". The New York Times. 9 May 1952. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  36. ^ Williams, C. Dickerman (March 1953). "Transportation Regulation and the Department of Commerce". The Yale Law Journal. 62: 563: 568. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  37. ^ Trussel, C. P. (27 January 1953). "SENATE CONFIRMS 3 COMMERCE AIDES; Approves Williams, Anderson and Murray -- Consideration of Stassen Is Slated Today". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  38. ^ "Rothschild Takes Oath Today". The New York Times. 2 March 1955. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  39. ^ "Guide to the Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. Papers 1916-1976". ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu. Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  40. ^ Blair, William M. (28 April 1965). "PRESIDENT NAMES AIR AGENCY HEADS; 8 Top Federal Posts Filled -- Boyd, Head of C.A.B., Gets Transport Job". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.