The
United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the
United States Department of Homeland SecurityThe United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the
President'sThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
CabinetThe Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
. The position was created by the
Homeland Security ActThe Homeland Security Act of 2002, , 116 Stat. 2135 was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. It was signed into law by President George W...
following the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the
Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
, Federal Protective Service,
U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionU.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
(which includes the
Border PatrolThe United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...
),
Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, and the
Federal Emergency Management AgencyThe Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA). It did not, however, include the
FBIThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
or the
CIAThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
.
On January 20, 2009, the Senate confirmed
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's appointment of
Janet NapolitanoJanet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
to be the third Secretary of Homeland Security. To assure a smooth transition however, Michael Chertoff was asked not to resign until the morning of January 21, 2009.
Inclusion in the presidential line of succession
Traditionally, the order of the
presidential line of successionThe United States presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting president or a president-elect.- Current order :This is a list of the current presidential line of...
is determined (after the
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
,
Speaker of the HouseThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
, and
President pro tempore of the SenateThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
) by the order of the creation of the cabinet positions, and is mandated as such under .
On March 9, 2006, President Bush signed as , which renewed the
Patriot ActThe USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
and amended the
Presidential Succession ActThe Presidential Succession Act establishes the line of succession to the powers and duties of the office of 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 office." The current Presidential Succession Act...
to include the Secretary of Homeland Security in the line of succession after the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (§ 503). In the
109th CongressThe One Hundred Ninth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, during the fifth and sixth years of George W. Bush's presidency. House members...
, legislation was introduced to place the Secretary of Homeland Security into the line of succession after the Attorney General but that bill expired at the end of the 109th Congress and has not been re-introduced.
List of Secretaries of Homeland Security
Prior to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, there existed an Assistant to the President for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Parties
Status
| No. |
Portrait |
Name |
State of Residence |
Took Office |
Left Office |
President(s) The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
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Tom RidgeThomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
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PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
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January 24, 2003 |
February 1, 2005 |
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George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
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| - |
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James M. Loy |
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
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February 1, 2005 |
February 15, 2005 |
| |
 |
Michael ChertoffMichael Chertoff was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney...
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New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
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February 15, 2005 |
January 21, 2009 |
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 |
Janet NapolitanoJanet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
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ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
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January 21, 2009 |
Incumbent |
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Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
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Living former Secretaries of Homeland Security
, two regular and one acting former Secretaries of Homeland Security were alive, the oldest being
James LoyAdmiral James Milton Loy served as Acting United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2005 and United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from December 4, 2003, to March 1, 2005...
(2005 (acting); born 1942).
| Name | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth |
Tom RidgeThomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
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2003–2005 |
August 26, 1945 (age 66) |
James LoyAdmiral James Milton Loy served as Acting United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2005 and United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from December 4, 2003, to March 1, 2005...
|
2005 (acting) |
August 10, 1942 (age 69) |
Michael ChertoffMichael Chertoff was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney...
|
2005-2009 |
November 28, 1953 (age 58) |
Order of succession
The order of succession for the Secretary of Homeland Security is as follows:
- Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
- Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs
The National Protection and Programs Directorate is a component within the United States Department of Homeland Security led by the Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs. NPPD's goal is to advance the Department's risk-reduction mission...
- Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management
The Under Secretary for Management is a position within the United States Department of Homeland Security responsible for all the department's budget, appropriations, expenditure of funds, accounting and finance; procurement; human resources and personnel; information technology systems;...
- Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Policy
Stewart Abercrombie Baker was the first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the United States Department of Homeland Security under the Presidency of George W...
(acting as Under Secretary-equivalent)
- Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology
The Science and Technology Directorate is the research and development arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security.-Leadership:The Science and Technology Directorate is led by the Under Secretary for Science and Technology...
- General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security
- Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
)
- Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
- Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection
- Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Chief Financial Officer
- Regional Administrator, Region V, Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Regional Administrator, Region VI, Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Regional Administrator, Region VII, Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Regional Administrator, Region IX, Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Regional Administrator, Region I, Federal Emergency Management Agency