The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce". Until 1913 there was one Secretary of Commerce and Labor, uniting this department with the Department of Labor, which is now headed by a separate Secretary of Labor.
The Office of the Secretary contains a Deputy Secretary of Commerce, a Chief of Staff, a Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, an Assistant Secretary for Commerce and Intergovernmental Affairs, a Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration, a Chief Information Officer, a General Counsel, an Inspector General, an Office of Business Liaison, an Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, an Office of Public Affairs, an Office of White House Liaison, and an International IPR Enforcement Coordinator.
Gary Locke, former Commerce Secretary resigned on August 11, 2011, to become the United States Ambassador to China.
On May 31, 2011, President Obama nominated John E. Bryson to be U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He was sworn in as the 37th United States Secretary of Commerce on October 21, 2011. On June 11, 2012, Bryson announced in a memo that he was taking a medical leave of absence. On June 21, 2012, Bryson announced he was resigning as Secretary of Commerce. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank will serve as Acting Secretary of Commerce until a new one is nominated.
The line of succession for the Secretary of Commerce is as follows:
- Deputy Secretary of Commerce
- General Counsel of the Department of Commerce
- Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology
- Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
- Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of Administration
- Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
Read more about United States Secretary Of Commerce: List of Secretaries of Commerce, Acting Secretaries of Commerce, Living Former Secretaries of Commerce
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