List of foreign-born United States Cabinet Secretaries

Henry Kissinger (left) and Madeleine Albright (right) are the highest-ranking Cabinet members to have been born outside the United States; both held the post of Secretary of State.[1]

As of 2013, the United States Cabinet has had 20 appointed members in its history who were born outside the present-day United States. Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers who signed the United States Constitution, was the first Cabinet member to be born outside of the United States.[1] Born in Nevis in 1755, Hamilton was appointed by President George Washington as the country's first Secretary of Treasury in 1789.[2][3] Irish-born James McHenry, who was appointed by Washington as Secretary of War in 1796 and served the same post in John Adams's administration, was the other foreign-born individual in Washington's Cabinet.[4] Albert Gallatin, born in Switzerland (present-day US sovereign embassadorial territory) became the third foreign-born member of the Cabinet when he was named Secretary of Treasury by President Thomas Jefferson.[5][6] Gallatin, his successor George Campbell, William Duane, Carl Schurz and James Wilson were the only foreign-born members to hold Cabinet positions in the 19th century. In the 20th century, nine foreign-born individuals were appointed to the Cabinet, including German-born Oscar Straus and Mexican-born George Romney (born in present-day sovereign US consulate territory), father of former Governor of Massachusetts and the 2012 Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney.[7] During the tenure of President George W. Bush, three more foreign-born individuals were appointed to the Cabinet—Elaine Chao, Mel Martinez in 2001 and Carlos Gutierrez in 2005.[1] Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell was the only foreign-born secretary from 2013 to 2017.

German-born Michael Blumenthal was appointed to the Cabinet by Jimmy Carter as his Secretary of the Treasury.

The Department of Treasury has had the most foreign-born Secretaries, with five. Department of Labor and Interior follow with three, and the departments of Housing and Urban Development and State have each had two. Former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright were the highest-ranking foreign-born Cabinet members ever in accordance to the United States presidential line of succession.[1] The majority of foreign-born Cabinet members were born in Europe. Most European-born Cabinet members originated from the United Kingdom and Germany with five and four respectively, and the others were born in Ireland, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Italy. Four Cabinet members were born in the Americas, and one was born in Asia. The departments of Defense, Justice, Health and Human Services, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security have not had foreign-born Secretaries.

Since most foreign born Cabinet members are not natural-born citizens—meaning that they were not born in the United States or born abroad to American parents—they are ineligible to exercise the powers of the President of the United States in the event that "neither a President nor Vice President" is able to "discharge the powers and duties" of the presidency as specified in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.[8][9]

Foreign-born Secretaries

Current departments

Numerical order represents the seniority of the Secretaries in the United States presidential line of succession.

 *  denotes the first foreign-born secretary of that particular department
# Secretary Position Year
appointed		 Country of birth Party Administration Ref.
1 Henry Kissinger* Secretary of State 1973 Germany Republican Richard Nixon [10][11]
Gerald Ford
1 Madeleine Albright Secretary of State 1997 Czechoslovakia Democratic Bill Clinton [12][13]
2 Alexander Hamilton* Secretary of the Treasury 1789 British West Indies
(Nevis)		 Federalist George Washington [2][3]
2 Albert Gallatin Secretary of the Treasury 1801 Republic of Geneva (now Switzerland) Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson
2 George Campbell Secretary of the Treasury 1814 United Kingdom Democratic-Republican James Madison [14]
2 William Duane Secretary of the Treasury 1833 United Kingdom Democratic Andrew Jackson [15]
2 Michael Blumenthal Secretary of the Treasury 1977 Germany Democratic Jimmy Carter [16][17]
3  —[a] Secretary of Defense —[a] —[a] —[a] —[a] —
4  —[b] Attorney General —[b] —[b] —[b] —[b] —
5 Carl Schurz* Secretary of the Interior 1877 Prussia Republican Rutherford B. Hayes [1][18]
5 Franklin Knight Lane Secretary of the Interior 1913 Prince Edward Island Democratic Woodrow Wilson [19]
5 Sally Jewell Secretary of the Interior 2013 United Kingdom Democratic Barack Obama [20]
6 James Wilson* Secretary of Agriculture 1897 United Kingdom Republican William McKinley [21]
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
7 Carlos Gutierrez* Secretary of Commerce 2005 Cuba Republican George W. Bush [22][23]
8 William Bauchop Wilson* Secretary of Labor 1913 United Kingdom Democratic Woodrow Wilson [24]
8 James Davis Secretary of Labor 1921 United Kingdom Republican Warren G. Harding [25][26]
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
8 Elaine Chao Secretary of Labor 2001 Taiwan Republican George W. Bush [1][27]
9  —[c] Secretary of Health and Human Services —[c] —[c] —[c] —[c] —
10 Mel Martínez* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2001 Cuba Republican George W. Bush [1]
11 Elaine Chao* Secretary of Transportation 2017 Taiwan Republican Donald Trump [28]
12  —[e] Secretary of Energy —[e] —[e] —[e] —[e] —
13  —[f] Secretary of Education —[f] —[f] —[f] —[f] —
14 Robert Wilkie* Secretary of Veterans Affairs 2018 Germany Republican Donald Trump [29]
15  —[h] Secretary of Homeland Security —[h] —[h] —[h] —[h] —

Defunct departments

The departments are listed in order of their establishment (earliest first).

 *  denotes the first foreign-born secretary of that particular department
# Secretary Position Year
appointed		 Country of birth Party Administration Ref.
1  —[i] Postmaster General —[i] —[i] —[i] —[i] —
2  —[j] Secretary of the Navy —[j] —[j] —[j] —[j] —
3 James McHenry* Secretary of War[k] 1796 Ireland Independent George Washington [4]
Federalist John Adams
4 Oscar Straus* Secretary of Commerce and Labor[l] 1906 Germany Republican Theodore Roosevelt [30]
5 Anthony Celebrezze* Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare[m] 1962 Italy Democratic John F. Kennedy [31]
Lyndon Johnson

Foreign-born individuals who have held cabinet-level positions

Zalmay Khalilzad was the first Afghan to serve as the Ambassador to the United Nations.

The following list includes those who were born outside of the United States and have held cabinet-level positions other than the 15 executive departments. The table below is organized based on the time at which a foreign-born individual was appointed to a cabinet-level position.

 *  denotes the first foreign-born head of that particular cabinet-level position
Secretary Position Year
appointed		 Country of birth Party Administration Ref.
Henry Kissinger* National Security Advisor 1969 Germany Republican Richard Nixon [10][11]
Gerald Ford
Zbigniew Brzezinski National Security Advisor 1977 Poland Democratic Jimmy Carter [32]
Madeleine Albright* Ambassador to the United Nations[n] 1993 Czechoslovakia Democratic Bill Clinton [12][13]
John Deutch* Director of Central Intelligence 1995 Belgium Democratic Bill Clinton [33][34]
John Negroponte Ambassador to the United Nations[n] 2001 United Kingdom Republican George W. Bush [35]
Zalmay Khalilzad Ambassador to the United Nations[n] 2007 Afghanistan Republican George W. Bush [36][37]
John Negroponte* Director of National Intelligence 2007 United Kingdom Republican George W. Bush [35]
Samantha Power Ambassador to the United Nations[n] 2013 Ireland Democratic Barack Obama [38]

See also

Notes

  • a The Department of Defense was established in 1947; no foreign-born person has served yet.[39]
  • b The Department of Justice was established in 1870; no foreign-born person has served yet.
  • c The Department of Health and Human Services was established in 1979; no foreign-born person has served yet.
  • e The Department of Energy was established in 1977; no foreign-born person has served yet.
  • f The Department of Education was established in 1979; no foreign-born person has served yet.
  • h The Department of Homeland Security was established in 2002; no foreign-born person has served yet.
  • i The Postmaster General ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a special agency independent of the executive branch, by the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act. No foreign-born person had ever served while it was a Cabinet post.[40]
  • j The Secretary of the Navy ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Department of the Navy was absorbed into the Department of Defense in 1947. No foreign-born person had ever served while it was a Cabinet post.[41][42]
  • k The position of Secretary of War became defunct when the Department of War became the Department of Defense in 1947.[43]
  • l The position of Secretary of Commerce and Labor became defunct when the Department of Commerce and Labor was subdivided into two separate entities in 1913.[44]
  • m The position of Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare became defunct when the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was subdivided into two separate entities in 1979.[45]
  • n The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is a cabinet-level position under the Clinton and Obama administrations. It was not a cabinet-level position under the Bush administration from 2001 to 2009.[46]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haddock, Vicki (November 2, 2003). "President Schwarzenegger? Some think it's time to stop excluding foreign-born citizens from serving in the Oval Office". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Alexander Hamilton". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Hamilton, Alexander, (1757–1804)". United States Congress. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  4. 1 2 "James McHenry". United States Army. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Albert Gallatin". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Gallatin, Albert, (1761–1849)". United States Congress. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  7. ↑ Rutenberg, Jim; Zeleny, Jeff. "Mitt Romney". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  8. ↑ "The Constitution of the United States: Article II. Executive Department (p.455-456)" (PDF). gpoaccess.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  9. ↑ "U.S. Code: Title 3, 19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". Cornell Law School. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  10. 1 2 "Henry Kissinger". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  11. 1 2 "Secretary of State Henry Alfred Kissinger". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  12. 1 2 "Secretary of State Madeleine Korbel Albright". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  13. 1 2 Brockes, Emma (October 30, 2003). "'I loved what I did'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Campbell, George Washington, (1769–1848)". United States Congress. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  15. ↑ "William J. Duane (1833 -1833): Secretary of the Treasury". University of Virginia. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Michael Blumenthal". United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  17. ↑ "W. Michael Blumenthal". Jewish Museum Berlin. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Schurz, Carl, (1829–1906)". United States Congress. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Franklin Knight Lane". National Park Service. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  20. ↑ "REI's Sally Jewell wins confirmation as Interior secretary". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Wilson, James, (1835–1920)". United States Congress. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Carlos Gutierrez". United States Department of Commerce. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Profile: Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez". ABC News. January 25, 2005. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  24. ↑ "William B. Wilson". United States Department of Labor. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  25. ↑ "James J. Davis". United States Department of Labor. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  26. ↑ "Davis, James John, (1873–1947)". United States Congress. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  27. ↑ "Profile: Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao". ABC News. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  28. ↑ Jansen, Bart (January 31, 2017). "Elaine Chao Takes Oath to Become Transportation Secretary". USA Today. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  29. ↑ Rosenbleeth, Herb (July 3, 2018). "Robert Wilkie Nominated for VA Secretary". Jewish War Veterans.
  30. ↑ "Oscar S. Straus in Roosevelt's Cabinet; Will Be the First Jew to Hold Such a Post in This Country. Meyer Postmaster General Metcalf Secretary of the Navy -Cortelyou to Head the Treasury Department". The New York Times. October 24, 1906. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  31. ↑ "Anthony J. Celebrezze 1910–1998". Ohio Northern University. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  32. ↑ "Zbigniew Brzezinski". Johns Hopkins University. 2004. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  33. ↑ Weiner, Tim (March 11, 1995). "Man in the News: John Mark Deutch; Reluctant Helmsman for a Troubled Agency". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  34. ↑ Lewis, Neil A. (September 17, 2000). "Investigation Of Ex-Chief Of the C.I.A. Is Broadened". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  35. 1 2 Collins, Dan (April 19, 2004). "Bush Taps Negroponte For Iraq Post". CBS News. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  36. ↑ Cooper, Helene (January 6, 2007). "Man in the News: Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad; On to a New Trouble Spot". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  37. ↑ Hoge, Warren (June 6, 2007). "Praise at U.N. for a New U.S. Envoy's Inclusive Tactics and Convivial Style". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  38. ↑ Peters, Jeremy W. (August 1, 2013). "Senate Easily Approves Obama's U.N. Nominee". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Histories of the Secretaries of Defense". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  40. ↑ "The United States Postal Service — An American History 1775 – 2002" (PDF). United States Postal Service. September 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Secretaries of the Navy". Department of the Navy. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  44. ↑ "General Records of the Department of Commerce". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  45. ↑ "General Records of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  46. ↑ Kelemen, Michele (December 1, 2008). "U.N. Envoy Nominee Rice Known As Smart, Tough". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 21, 2009. The head of the United Nations Foundation, a Washington-based advocacy group, released a statement praising Rice as well as Obama's decision to make the post of U.N. ambassador a Cabinet-level position once again — as it was during the Clinton years.

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