United States Secretary of Labor

"Secretary of Labor" redirects here. See also: Secretary of Labor (Mexico).

United States Secretary of Labor
Official Seal
Incumbent Hilda Solis(Designate) since January 30, 2009
Formation	March 6, 1913
First holder	William B. Wilson
Website	www.dol.gov

The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies.

Previously there was one Secretary of Commerce and Labor, uniting this department with the Department of Commerce, which is headed by a separate Secretary of Commerce. Six women have served as Secretary of Labor, which is more than any other cabinet position.

On December 19, 2008, President Barack Obama announced he will nominate Hilda Solis as the 25th Secretary of Labor. Her nomination will require confirmation by the United States Senate.

List of Secretaries of Labor

This is a complete list of all past and present Secretaries of Labor.

No.	Secretary of Labor	Portrait	Start of Term	End of Term	President(s)
1	William B. Wilson		March 6, 1913	March 4, 1921	Woodrow Wilson
2	James J. Davis		March 5, 1921	November 30, 1930	Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover
3	William N. Doak		December 9, 1930	March 4, 1933	Herbert Hoover
4	Frances Perkins		March 4, 1933	June 30, 1945	Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman
5	Lewis B. Schwellenbach		July 1, 1945	June 10, 1948	Harry Truman
6	Maurice J. Tobin		August 13, 1948	January 20, 1953
7	Martin P. Durkin		January 21, 1953	September 10, 1953	Dwight Eisenhower
8	James P. Mitchell		October 9, 1953	January 20, 1961
9	Arthur Goldberg		January 21, 1961	September 20, 1962	John F. Kennedy
10	W. Willard Wirtz		September 25, 1962	January 20, 1969	John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
11	George Shultz		January 22, 1969	July 1, 1970	Richard Nixon
12	James D. Hodgson		July 2, 1970	February 1, 1973
13	Peter J. Brennan		February 2, 1973	March 15, 1975	Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
14	John Thomas Dunlop		March 18, 1975	January 31, 1976	Gerald Ford
15	W. J. Usery Jr.		February 10, 1976	January 20, 1977
16	Ray Marshall		January 27, 1977	January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
17	Raymond J. Donovan		February 4, 1981	March 15, 1985	Ronald Reagan
18	William E. Brock		April 29, 1985	October 31, 1987
19	Ann Dore McLaughlin	McLaughlin	December 17, 1987	January 20, 1989
20	Elizabeth Dole		January 25, 1989	November 23, 1990	George H. W. Bush
21	Lynn Morley Martin		February 22, 1991	January 20, 1993
22	Robert Reich		January 22, 1993	January 10, 1997	Bill Clinton
23	Alexis Herman		May 1, 1997	January 20, 2001
24	Elaine Chao		January 29, 2001	January 20, 2009	George W. Bush
25	Hilda Solis		January , 2009	present	Barack Obama

Living Former Secretaries of Labor

• W. Willard Wirtz
• George Shultz
• James D. Hodgson
• W. J. Usery Jr.
• Ray Marshall
• Raymond J. Donovan
• William E. Brock
• Ann Dore McLaughlin
• Elizabeth Dole
• Lynn Morley Martin
• Robert Reich
• Alexis Herman

See also

• Living former members of the United States Cabinet

External links

• History at the Department of Labor