Past Secretaries of the Department of the Interior

Past Secretaries of the Department of the Interior The Department of the Interior has been led by 50 Secretaries of Interior in its 158 years.

1. Thomas Ewing 1849-1850
   
2. Thomas M.T. McKennan 1850
   
3. Alexander H.H. Stuart 1850-1853
   
4. Robert McClelland 1853-1857
   
5. Jacob Thompson 1857-1861
   
6. Caleb B. Smith 1861-1862
   
7. John P. Usher 1863-1865
   
8. James Harlan 1865-1866
   
9. Orville H. Browning 1866-1869
   
10. Jacob D. Cox 1869-1870
    
11. Columbus Delano 1870-1875
    
12. Zachariah Chandler 1875-1877
    
13. Carl Schurz 1877-1881
    
14. Samuel J. Kirkwood 1881-1882
    
15. Henry M. Teller 1882-1885
    
16. Lucius Q.C. Lamar 1885-1888
    
17. William F. Vilas 1888-1889
    
18. John W. Noble 1889-1893
    
19. Michael H. Smith 1893-1896
    
20. David R. Francis 1896-1897
    
21. Cornelius N. Bliss 1897-1899
    
22. Ethan A. Hitchcock 1899-1907
    
23. James R. Garfield 1907-1909
    
24. Richard A. Ballinger 1909-1911
25. Walter Lowrie Fisher 1911-1913
    
26. Franklin K. Lane 1913-1920
    
27. John B. Payne 1920 -1921
    
28. Albert B. Fall 1921-1923
    
29. Hubert Work 1923-1928
    
30. Roy O. West 1928-1929
    
31. Ray L. Wilbur 1929-1933
    
32. Harold L. Ickes 1933-1946
    
33. Julius A. Krug 1946-1949
    
34. Oscar L. Chapman 1949-1953
    
35. Douglas McKay 1953-1956
    
36. Fred A. Seaton 1956-1961
    
37. Stewart L. Udall 1961-1969
    
38. Walter Hickel 1969-1970
    
39. Rogers C. B. Morton 1971-1975
    
40. Stanley K. Hathaway 1975
    
41. Thomas S. Kleppe 1975-1977
    
42. Cecil B. Andrus 1977-1981
    
43. James G. Watt 1981-1983
    
44. William P. Clark 1983-1985
    
45. Donald P. Hodel 1985-1989
    
46. Manuel Lujan, Jr. 1989-1993
    
47. Bruce Babbitt 1993-2001
    
48. Gale A. Norton 2001-2006
    
49. Dirk Kempthorne 2006-2009

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Thomas Ewing

Born:December 28, 1789, West Liberty, Ohio County, Virginia
Appointed from: Ohio
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 8, 1849
Served Under: Pres. Zachary Taylor; Pres. Millard Fillmore
Termination: July 22, 1850
Length of Service: 1 year, 4 months, 15 days
Died: October 26, 1871
Buried: St. Mary's Cemetery, Lancaster, Ohio

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Thomas McKean

Born: December 31, 1794, New Castle, Delaware
Appointed from: Pennsylvania
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: August 15, 1850
Served Under: Pres. Millard Fillmore
Termination: August 26, 1850
Length of Service: 12 days
Died: July 9, 1852
Buried: Washington Cemetery, Washington, Pennsylvania

 

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Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart

 

Born: April 2, 1807, Staunton, Virginia
Appointed from: Virginia
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Served Under: Pres. Millard Fillmore;
Termination: March 7, 1853
Length of Service: 2 years, 5 months, 21 days
Died: February 13, 1891
Buried: Thornrose Cemetery, Staunton, Virginia

 

 

 

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Robert McClelland

Born: August 1, 1807, Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Appointed from: Michigan
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 8, 1853
Served Under: Pres.Franklin Pierce;
Termination: March 9, 1857
Length of Service: 4 years, 2 days
Died: August 30, 1880
Buried: Elwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan

 

 

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Jacob Thompson

Born: May 15, 1810, Leasburg, Caswell County, North Carolina
Appointed from: Mississippi
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 10, 1857
Served Under: Pres. James Buchanan
Termination: January 8, 1861
Length of Service: 3 years, 9 months, 29 days
Died: March 24, 1885
Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee

 

 

 

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Caleb Blood Smith

Born: April 16, 1808, Boston, Massachusetts
Appointed from: Indiana
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 5, 1861
Served Under: Pres. Abraham Lincoln
Termination: December 31, 1862
Length of Service: 1 year, 9 months, 26 days
Died: January 7, 1864
Buried: City Cemetery, Connersville, Indiana

 

 

 

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John Palmer Usher

Born: January 9, 1816, Brookfield, Madison County, New York
Appointed from: Indiana
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: January 1, 1863
Served Under: Pres. Abraham Lincoln
Termination: May 15, 1865
Length of Service: 2 years, 4 months, 15 days
Died: April 13, 1889
Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas

 

 

 

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James Harlan

Born: August 26, 1820, Clark County, Illinois
Appointed from:Iowa
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: May 16, 1865
Served Under: Pres. Andrew Johnson
Termination: August 31, 1866
Length of Service: 1 year, 3 months, 15 days
Died: October 5, 1899
Buried: Forest Home Cemetery, Henry County, Iowa

 

 

 

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Orville Hickman Browning

Born: February 10, 1806, Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky
Appointed from:Illinois
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: September 1, 1866
Served Under: Pres. Andrew Johnson;
Termination: March 4, 1869
Length of Service: 2 years, 6 months, 4 days
Died: August 10,1881
Buried: Woodland Cemetery, Quincy, Illinois

 

 

 

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Jacob Dolson Cox

Born: October 27, 1828, Montreal, Canada
Appointed from:Ohio
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 5, 1869
Served Under: Pres. Ulysses S. Grant
Termination: October 31, 1870
Length of Service: 1 year, 7 months, 26 days
Died: August 4, 1900
Buried: Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio

 

 

 

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Columbus Delano

Born: June 5, 1809, Shoreham, Vermont
Appointed from:Ohio
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: November 1, 1870
Served Under: Pres. Ulysses S. Grant
Termination: September 30, 1875
Length of Service: 4 years, 11 months
Died: October 23, 1896
Buried: Mt. Vernon Cemetery, Mt. View, Ohio

 

 

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Zachariah Chandler

Born: December 10, 1813, Bedford, New Hampshire

Appointed from:Michigan
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: October 19, 1875
Served Under: Pres. Ulysses S. Grant
Termination: March 11, 1877
Length of Service: 1 year, 4 months, 23 days
Died: November 1, 1879
Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan

 

 

 

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Carl Schurz

Born: March 2, 1829, Liblar, near Cologne, Germany
Appointed from:Missouri
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 12, 1877
Served Under: Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes
Termination: March 7, 1881
Length of Service: 3 years, 11 months, 26 days
Died: May 14, 1906
Buried: Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, New York

 

 

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Samuel Jordan Kirkwood

Born: December 20, 1813, Harford County, Maryland
Appointed from:Iowa
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: March 8, 1881
Served Under: Pres. James A. Garfield
Pres. Chester A. Arthur
Termination: April 17, 1882
Length of Service: 1 year, 1 month, 9 days
Died: September 1, 1894
Buried: Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City, Iowa

 

 

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Henry Moore Teller

Born: May 23, 1830, Granger, Allegany County, New York
Appointed from:Colorado
Nominated: Unknown
Confirmed: Unknown
Took Office: April 18, 1882
Served Under: Pres. Charles A. Arthur
Termination: March 3, 1885
Length of Service: 2 years, 10 months, 16 days
Died: February 23, 1914
Buried: Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado

 

 

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Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar

Born: September 17, 1825, Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia
Appointed from:Mississippi
Nominated: Unknown
Took Office: March 6, 1885
Served Under: Pres. Grover Cleveland
Termination: January 10, 1888
Length of Service: 2 years, 10 months, 5 days
Died: January 23, 1893
Buried: St. Peter's Cemetery, Oxford, Mississippi

 

 

 

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William Freeman Vilas

Born: July 9, 1840, Chelsea, Orange County, Vermont

Appointed from:Wisconsin
Nominated: December 12, 1887
Confirmed: January 10, 1888
Took Office: January 16, 1888
Served Under: Pres. Grover Cleveland
Termination: March 6, 1889
Length of Service: 1 year, 1 month, 21 days
Died: August 28, 1908
Buried: Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin

 

 

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John Willock Noble

Born: October 26, 1831, Lancaster, Ohio
Appointed from:Missouri
Nominated: March 5, 1889
Confirmed: March 5, 1889
Took Office: March 7, 1889
Served Under: Pres. Benjamin Harrison
Termination: March 6, 1893
Length of Service: 4 years
Died: March 22, 1912, St. Louis, Missouri
Buried: Bellefontaine Cemetary, St. Louis, Missouri

 

 

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Michael Hoke Smith

Born: September 2, 1855, Newton, Catawba County, North Carolina
Appointed from: Georgia
Nominated: March 6, 1893
Confirmed: March 6, 1893
Took Office: March 6, 1893
Served Under: Pres. Grover Cleveland
Termination: September 1, 1896
Length of Service: 3 years, 5 months, 26 days
Died: November 22, 1931
Buried: Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia

 

 

 

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David Rowland Francis

Born: October 1850, Richmond, Kentucky
Appointed from:Missouri
Nominated: December 9, 1896
Confirmed: January 18, 1897
Took Office: September 3, 1896
Served Under: Pres. Grover Cleveland
Termination: March 5, 1897
Length of Service: 6 months, 3 days
Died: January 15, 1927
Buried: Bellefontaine Cemetary, St. Louis, Missouri

 

 

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Cornelius Newton Bliss

Born: January 26, 1833, Fall River, Massachusetts
Appointed from: New York
Nominated: March 5, 1897
Confirmed: March 5, 1897
Took Office: March 6, 1897
Served Under: Pres. William McKinley
Termination: February 19, 1899
Length of Service: 1 year, 11 months, 14 days
Died: October 9, 1911
Buried: Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York

 

 

 

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Ethan Allen Hitchcock

Born: September 19, 1835, Mobile, Alabama
Appointed from:Missouri
Nominated: December 21, 1898
Confirmed: December 21, 1898
Took Office: February 20, 1899
Served Under: Pres. William McKinley
Pres. Theodore Roosevelt
Termination: March 4, 1907
Length of Service: 8 years, 14 days
Died: April 9, 1909, Washington, D.C.
Buried: Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri

 

 

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James Rudolph Garfield 

Born: October 17, 1865, Hiram, Ohio
Appointed from: Ohio
Nominated: December 3, 1906
Confirmed: January 15, 1907
Took Office: March 5, 1907
Served Under: Pres. Theodore Roosevelt
Pres. William H. Taft
Termination: March 5, 1909
Length of Service: 2 years, 1 day
Died: March 24, 1950
Buried: Mentor Municipal Cemetery, Mentor, Ohio

 

 

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Richard Achilles Ballinger

Born: July 9, 1858, Boonesboro, Iowa
Appointed from:Washington
Nominated: March 5, 1909
Confirmed: March 5, 1909
Took Office: March 6, 1909
Served Under: Pres. William H. Taft
Termination: March 12, 1911
Length of Service: 2 years, 7 days
Died: June 6, 1922, Seattle , Washington
Buried: Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington

 

 

 

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Walter Lowrie Fisher Born: July 4, 1862, Wheeling, Virginia
(now West Virginia)
Appointed from:Illinois
Nominated: April 13, 1911
Confirmed: April 17, 1911
Took Office: March 13, 1911
Served Under: Pres. William H. Taft
Termination: March 5, 1913
Length of Service: 1 year, 11 months, 23 days
Died: November 9, 1935
Buried: Hanover, Indiana

 

 

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Franklin Knight Lane

Born: July 15, 1864, DeSable Prince Edward Island, Canada
Appointed from:California
Nominated: March 5, 1913
Confirmed: March 5, 1913
Took Office: March 6, 1913
Served Under: Pres. Woodrow Wilson
Termination: February 29, 1920
Length of Service: 6 years, 11 months, 24 days
Died: May 18, 1921, Rochester, Minnesota
Buried: Ashes scattered over Yosemite

 

 

 

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John Barton Payne

 

Born: January 26, 1855
Pruntytown, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Appointed from:Illinois
Nominated: February 14, 1920
Confirmed: February 28, 1920
Took Office: March 15, 1920
Served Under: Pres. Woodrow Wilson
Termination: March 4, 1921
Length of Service: 11 months, 20 days
Died: January 24, 1935
Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

 

 

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Albert Bacon Fall

Born: November 26, 1861, Frankfort, Kentucky
Appointed from:New Mexico
Nominated: March 4, 1921
Confirmed: March 4, 1921
Took Office: March 5, 1921
Served Under: Pres. Warren G. Harding
Termination: March 4, 1923
Length of Service: 2 years
Died: November 30, 1944
Buried: Evergreen Cemetery, Three Rivers, New Mexico

 

 

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Hubert Work

 

Born: July 3, 1860, Marion Center, Indiana County, Pennsylvania
Appointed from:Colorado
Nominated: February 27, 1923
Confirmed: February 27, 1923
Took Office: March 5, 1923
Served Under: Pres. Warren G. Harding
Pres. Calvin Coolidge
Termination: July 24, 1928
Length of Service: 5 years, 4 months, 20 days
Died: December 14, 1942
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

 

 

 

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Roy Owen West

Born: October 27, 1868, Georgetown, Illinois
Appointed from:Illinois
Nominated: December 6, 1928
Confirmed: July 20, 1928
Took Office: July 25, 1928
Served Under: Pres. Calvin Coolidge
Termination: March 4, 1929
Length of Service: 7 months, 9 days
Died: November 29, 1958
Buried: Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois

 

 

 

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Ray Lyman Wilbur

Born: April 13, 1875, Boonesboro, Iowa
Appointed from:California
Nominated: March 5, 1929
Confirmed: March 5, 1929
Took Office: March 5, 1929
Served Under: Pres. Herbert C. Hoover
Termination: March 4, 1933
Length of Service: 4 years
Died: June 26, 1949
Buried: Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, California

 

 

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Harold LeClair Ickes

Born: March 15, 1874, Frankstown Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania
Appointed from:Illinois
Nominated: March 4, 1933
Confirmed: March 4, 1933
Took Office: March 4, 1933
Served Under: Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Pres. Harry S. Truman
Termination: February 15, 1946
Length of Service: 12 years, 11 months, 12 days
Died: February 3, 1952
Buried: Sandy Springs, Maryland

 

 

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Julius Albert Krug

Born: November 23, 1907, Madison, Wisconsin
Appointed from:Wisconsin
Nominated: February 26, 1946
Confirmed: March 5, 1946
Took Office: March 18, 1946
Served Under: Pres. Harry S. Truman
Termination: December 1, 1949
Length of Service: 3 years, 8 months, 14 days
Died: March 26, 1970
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery

 

 

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Oscar Littleton Chapman

Born: October 22, 1896, Omega, Halifax County, Virginia
Appointed from:Colorado
Nominated: January 5, 1950
Confirmed: January 18, 1950
Took Office: December 1, 1949
Served Under: Pres. Harry S. Truman
Termination: January 20, 1953
Length of Service: 3 years, 1 month, 20 days
Died: February 8, 1978
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery

 

 

 

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Douglas McKay

Born: June 24, 1893, Portland, Oregon

Appointed from:Oregon
Nominated: January 20, 1953
Confirmed: January 21, 1953
Took Office: January 21, 1953
Served Under: Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Termination: April 15, 1956
Length of Service: 3 years, 2 months, 25 days
Died: July 22, 1959
Buried: Bellcrest Memorial Cemetery, Salem, Oregon

 

 

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Fred Andrew Seaton

Born: December 11, 1909, Washington, D.C.
Appointed from:Nebraska
Nominated: May 28, 1956
Confirmed: June 5, 1956
Took Office: June 8, 1956
Served Under: Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Termination: January 20, 1961
Length of Service: 4 years, 7 months, 13 days
Died: January 16, 1974
Buried: Parkview Memorial Cemetery, Hastings, Nebraska

 

 

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Stewart Lee Udall

Born: January 31, 1920, St. Johns, Arizona

Appointed from:Arizona
Nominated: January 21, 1961
Confirmed: January 21, 1961
Took Office: January 21, 1961
Served Under: Pres. John F. Kennedy
Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson
Termination: January 20, 1969
Length of Service: 8 years
Died: March 20, 2010

 

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Walter J. Hickel

Born: August 18, 1919, Ellinwood, Kansas
Appointed from:Alaska
Nominated: December 11, 1968
Confirmed: January 23, 1969
Took Office: January 24, 1969
Served Under: Pres. Richard M. Nixon
Termination: November 25, 1970
Length of Service: 1 year, 10 months, 2 days

 

 

 

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Rogers Clark Ballard Morton

Born: September 19, 1914, Louisville, Kentucky

Appointed from:Maryland
Nominated: January 25, 1971
Confirmed: January 28, 1971
Took Office: January 29, 1971
Served Under: Pres. Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Termination: April 30, 1975
Length of Service: 4 years, 3 months, 2 days
Died: April 19, 1979
Buried: Wye Church Churchyard, Talbot County, Maryland

 

 

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Stanley K. Hathaway

Born: July 19, 1924, Osceola, Nebraska
Appointed from:Wyoming
Nominated: April 4, 1975
Confirmed: June 11, 1975
Took Office: June 12, 1975
Served Under: Pres. Gerald R. Ford
Termination: October 9, 1975
Length of Service: 3 months, 26 days
Died: October 4, 2005
Buried: Valley View Cemetery, Goshen County, Wyoming

 

 

 

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Thomas S. Kleppe

Born: July 1, 1919, Kintyre, North Dakota

Appointed from:North Dakota
Nominated: September 9, 1975
Confirmed: October 9, 1975
Took Office: October 17, 1975
Served Under: Pres. Gerald S. Ford
Termination: January 20, 1977
Length of Service: 1 year, 3 months, 4 days

 

 

 

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Cecil D. Andrus

Born: August 25, 1931, Hood River, Oregon
Appointed from:Idaho
Nominated: December 18, 1976
Confirmed: January 20, 1977
Took Office: January 23, 1977
Served Under: Pres. Jimmy Carter
Termination: January 20, 1981
Length of Service: 3 years, 11 months, 28 days

 

 

 

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James G. Watt

 

Born: January 31, 1938, Lusk, Wyoming
Appointed from:Colorado
Nominated: January 20, 1981
Confirmed: January 22, 1981
Took Office: January 23, 1981
Served Under: Pres. Ronald Reagan
Termination: November 8, 1983
Length of Service: 2 years, 9 months, 16 days

 

 

 

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William Patrick Clark

Born: October 23, 1931, Oxnard, California
Appointed from:California
Nominated: October 13, 1983
Confirmed: November 18, 1983
Took Office: November 18, 1983
Served Under: Pres. Ronald Reagan
Termination: February 7, 1985
Length of Service: 1 year, 2 months, 20 days

 

 

 

 

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Donald Paul Hodel

Born: May 23, 1935, Portland, Oregon

Appointed from:Oregon
Nominated: January 10, 1985
Confirmed: February 6, 1985
Took Office: February 8, 1985
Served Under: Pres. Ronald Reagan
Termination: January 20, 1989
Length of Service: 3 years, 11 months, 12 days

 

 

 

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Manuel Lujan, Jr.

Born: May 12, 1928, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Appointed from:New Mexico
Nominated: December 22, 1988
Confirmed: February 2, 1989
Took Office: February 3, 1989
Served Under: Pres. George H.W. Bush
Termination: January 20, 1993
Length of Service: 3 years, 11 months, 17 days

 

 

 

 

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Bruce Babbitt

Born: June 27, 1938, Flagstaff, Arizona
Appointed from:Arizona
Nominated: December 27, 1992
Confirmed: January 22, 1993
Took Office: January 22, 1993
Served Under: Pres. Bill Clinton
Termination: January 2, 2001
Length of Service: 8 years

 

 

 

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Gale A. Norton

Born: March 11, 1954, Wichita, KS
Appointed from:Colorado
Nominated: December 29, 2000
Confirmed: January 30, 2001
Took Office: January 31, 2001
Served Under: Pres. George W. Bush
Termination: March 31, 2006
Length of Service: 5 years, 2 months

 

 

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Dirk Kempthorne

Born: October 29, 1951, in San Diego, CA
Appointed from: Idaho
Nominated: December 29, 2000
Confirmed: May 26, 2006
Took Office: May 29, 2006
Served Under: Pres. George W. Bush
Termination: January 19, 2009
Length of Service: 2 years, 7 months

 

 

 

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