United States Secretary of the Interior | |
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![]() Seal of the Department of the Interior | |
![]() Flag of the Secretary of the Interior | |
United States Department of the Interior | |
Style | Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal) |
Member of | Cabinet |
Reports to | President of the United States |
Seat | Washington, D.C. |
Appointer | President of the United States with Senate advice and consent |
Term length | No fixed term |
Constituting instrument | 43 U.S.C. § 1451 |
Formation | March 3, 1849 |
First holder | Thomas Ewing |
Succession | Eighth[1] |
Deputy | United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior |
Salary | Executive Schedule, Level I |
Website | www |
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Park Service. The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the president of the United States. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries.
As the policies and activities of the Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the Western United States,[2] the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949, Rogers Morton, was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the Mississippi River.
The acting secretary of the interior is Scott de la Vega, who succeeded David Bernhardt, who resigned on January 20, 2021.
President Joe Biden has nominated U.S. representative Deb Haaland as the secretary of the interior, the first Native American woman selected for the position.
The line of succession for the secretary of interior is as follows:[3]
(3) (16) (33)
Denotes acting Secretary of the Interior
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As of February 2021, nine former secretaries of the interior are alive (with all secretaries that have served since 1993 still living), the oldest being Donald P. Hodel (served 1985-1989, born 1935). The most recent to die was Manuel Lujan Jr. (served 1989-1993, born 1928), on April 25, 2019. He was also the most recently serving secretary to die.
Name | Term of office | Date of birth (and age) |
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James G. Watt | 1981-1983 | January 31, 1938 |
Donald P. Hodel | 1985-1989 | May 23, 1935 |
Bruce E. Babbitt | 1993-2001 | June 27, 1938 |
Gale A. Norton | 2001-2006 | March 11, 1954 |
Dirk Kempthorne | 2006-2009 | October 29, 1951 |
Ken Salazar | 2009-2013 | March 2, 1955 |
Sally Jewell | 2013-2017 | February 21, 1956 |
Ryan Zinke | 2017-2019 | November 1, 1961 |
David Bernhardt | 2019-2021 | August 17, 1969 |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
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Preceded by TBD as Attorney General |
Order of Precedence of the United States as Secretary of the Interior |
Succeeded by TBD as Secretary of Agriculture |
U.S. presidential line of succession | ||
Preceded by Attorney General TBD |
8th in line | Succeeded by Secretary of Agriculture TBD |