United States Secretary of the Interior explained

Post:United States Secretary
Body:the Interior
Flag:Flag of the United States Secretary of the Interior.svg
Flagborder:yes
Flagsize:130
Flagcaption:Flag of the secretary
Insignia:Seal of the United States Department of the Interior.svg
Insigniasize:120
Insigniacaption:Seal of the Department of the Interior
Incumbent:Deb Haaland
Incumbentsince:March 16, 2021
Acting:no
Department:United States Department of the Interior
Style:Madam 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
Appointer Qualified:with Senate advice and consent
Termlength:No fixed term
First:Thomas Ewing
Succession:Eighth[1]
Deputy:United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Salary:Executive Schedule, Level I

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 along with 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.

Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$246,400, as of January 2024.[3]

Following senate confirmation in March 2021, former U.S. representative Deb Haaland was sworn in as the secretary of the interior, the first Native American to hold the position.[4]

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of interior is as follows:[5]

  1. Deputy Secretary of the Interior
  2. Solicitor of the Interior
  3. Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget
  4. Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management
  5. Assistant Secretary for Water and Science
  6. Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks
  7. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
  8. Director, Security, Safety, and Law Enforcement, Bureau of Reclamation
  9. Central Region Director, US Geological Survey
  10. Intermountain Regional Director, National Park Service
  11. Region 6 (Mountain-Prairie Region) Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service
  12. Colorado State Director, Bureau of Land Management
  13. Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region

List of secretaries of the interior

Parties (3) (17) (33)
  • Status
    • NumberPortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft officePresident(s)
    1Thomas EwingOhioMarch 8, 1849July 22, 1850Zachary Taylor
    Millard Fillmore
    2Thomas M. T. McKennanPennsylvaniaAugust 15, 1850August 26, 1850
    3Alexander H. H. StuartVirginiaSeptember 14, 1850March 7, 1853
    Robert McClellandMichiganMarch 8, 1853March 9, 1857Franklin Pierce
    Jacob ThompsonMississippiMarch 10, 1857January 8, 1861James Buchanan
    Caleb B. SmithIndianaMarch 5, 1861December 31, 1862Abraham Lincoln
    John P. UsherIndianaJanuary 1, 1863May 15, 1865Abraham Lincoln
    Andrew Johnson
    James HarlanIowaMay 16, 1865August 31, 1866Andrew Johnson
    Orville H. BrowningIllinoisSeptember 1, 1866March 4, 1869
    Jacob D. CoxOhioMarch 5, 1869October 31, 1870Ulysses S. Grant
    Columbus DelanoOhioNovember 1, 1870September 30, 1875
    Zachariah ChandlerMichiganOctober 19, 1875March 11, 1877
    Carl SchurzMissouriMarch 12, 1877March 7, 1881Rutherford B. Hayes
    Samuel J. KirkwoodIowaMarch 8, 1881April 17, 1882James A. Garfield
    Chester A. Arthur
    Henry M. TellerColoradoApril 18, 1882March 3, 1885
    Lucius Q. C. Lamar IIMississippiMarch 6, 1885January 10, 1888Grover Cleveland
    William F. VilasWisconsinJanuary 16, 1888March 6, 1889
    John W. NobleMissouriMarch 7, 1889March 6, 1893Benjamin Harrison
    Hoke SmithGeorgiaMarch 6, 1893September 1, 1896Grover Cleveland
    David R. FrancisMissouriSeptember 3, 1896March 5, 1897
    Cornelius N. BlissNew YorkMarch 6, 1897February 19, 1899William McKinley
    Ethan A. HitchcockMissouriFebruary 20, 1899March 4, 1907
    Theodore Roosevelt
    James R. GarfieldOhioMarch 5, 1907March 4, 1909
    Richard A. BallingerWashingtonMarch 6, 1909March 12, 1911William Howard Taft
    Walter L. FisherIllinoisMarch 13, 1911March 5, 1913
    Franklin K. LaneCaliforniaMarch 6, 1913February 29, 1920Woodrow Wilson
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Alexander T. Vogelsang
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Californiabgcolor=#E6E6AA February 29, 1920bgcolor=#E6E6AA March 13, 1920
    John B. PayneIllinoisMarch 15, 1920March 4, 1921
    Albert B. FallNew MexicoMarch 5, 1921March 4, 1923Warren G. Harding
    Hubert WorkColoradoMarch 5, 1923July 24, 1928
    Calvin Coolidge
    Roy O. WestIllinoisJuly 25, 1928March 4, 1929
    Ray Lyman WilburCaliforniaMarch 5, 1929March 4, 1933Herbert Hoover
    Harold L. IckesIllinoisMarch 4, 1933February 15, 1946Franklin D. Roosevelt
    Harry S. Truman
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Oscar L. Chapman
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Coloradobgcolor=#E6E6AA February 15, 1946bgcolor=#E6E6AA March 18, 1946
    Julius A. KrugWisconsinMarch 18, 1946December 1, 1949
    Oscar L. ChapmanColoradoDecember 1, 1949January 20, 1953
    Douglas McKayOregonJanuary 21, 1953April 15, 1956Dwight D. Eisenhower
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Clarence A. Davis
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Nebraskabgcolor=#E6E6AA April 15, 1956bgcolor=#E6E6AA June 8, 1956
    Fred A. SeatonNebraskaJune 8, 1956January 20, 1961
    Stewart L. UdallArizonaJanuary 21, 1961January 20, 1969John F. Kennedy
    Lyndon B. Johnson
    Walter J. HickelAlaskaJanuary 24, 1969November 25, 1970Richard Nixon
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Fred J. Russell
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Californiabgcolor=#E6E6AA November 25, 1970bgcolor=#E6E6AA January 29, 1971
    Rogers C. B. MortonMarylandJanuary 29, 1971April 30, 1975
    Gerald Ford
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA D. Kent Frizzell
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Kansasbgcolor=#E6E6AA April 30, 1975bgcolor=#E6E6AA June 12, 1975
    Stanley K. HathawayWyomingJune 12, 1975October 9, 1975
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA D. Kent Frizzell
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Kansasbgcolor=#E6E6AA October 9, 1975bgcolor=#E6E6AA October 17, 1975
    Thomas S. KleppeNorth DakotaOctober 17, 1975January 20, 1977
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Alfred G. Albert
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA January 20, 1977bgcolor=#E6E6AA January 23, 1977Jimmy Carter
    Cecil D. AndrusIdahoJanuary 23, 1977January 20, 1981
    James G. WattColoradoJanuary 23, 1981November 8, 1983Ronald Reagan
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA J. J. Simmons III
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA New Jerseybgcolor=#E6E6AA November 8, 1983bgcolor=#E6E6AA November 18, 1983
    William P. ClarkCaliforniaNovember 18, 1983February 7, 1985
    Donald P. HodelVirginiaFebruary 8, 1985January 20, 1989
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Earl E. Gjelde
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Virginiabgcolor=#E6E6AA January 20, 1989bgcolor=#E6E6AA February 3, 1989George H. W. Bush
    Manuel Lujan Jr.New MexicoFebruary 3, 1989January 20, 1993
    Bruce E. BabbittArizonaJanuary 22, 1993January 19, 2001Bill Clinton
    –Thomas N. Slonaker
    		ArizonaJanuary 20, 2001January 31, 2001
    George W. Bush
    Gale A. NortonColoradoJanuary 31, 2001March 31, 2006
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Lynn Scarlett
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA Californiabgcolor=#E6E6AA April 1, 2006bgcolor=#E6E6AA May 26, 2006
    Dirk KempthorneIdahoMay 26, 2006January 19, 2009
    –Lynn Scarlett
    		CaliforniaJanuary 19, 2009January 20, 2009
    Barack Obama
    Ken SalazarColoradoJanuary 20, 2009April 12, 2013
    Sally JewellWashingtonApril 12, 2013[6] January 20, 2017
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Kevin Haugrud
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA January 20, 2017bgcolor=#E6E6AA March 1, 2017Donald Trump
    Ryan ZinkeMontanaMarch 1, 2017January 2, 2019
    David BernhardtColoradoJanuary 2, 2019April 11, 2019
    April 11, 2019January 20, 2021
    bgcolor=#E6E6AA –bgcolor=#E6E6AA bgcolor=#E6E6AA Scott de la Vega
    		bgcolor=#E6E6AA New Yorkbgcolor=#E6E6AA January 20, 2021bgcolor=#E6E6AA March 16, 2021Joe Biden
    Deb HaalandNew MexicoMarch 16, 2021Incumbent

    External links

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    Notes and References

    1. Web site: 3 U.S. Code § 19 – Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act . Legal Information Institute.
    2. Web site: Salazar, Vilsack: The West's New Land Lords . Courtney . Lowery . December 17, 2008 . New West . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081220221345/http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_wests_new_land_lords/C41/L41/ . December 20, 2008.
    3. Web site: Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule . . 2024-01-01 . 2024-06-13.
    4. Web site: Deb Haaland Confirmed As 1st Native American Interior Secretary . Nathan . Rott . March 15, 2021 . NPR.
    5. Web site: Chapter 3: Secretarial Succession . September 3, 2004 . Electronic Library of the Interior Policies . October 30, 2016.
    6. Web site: About Secretary Jewell . U.S. Department of the Interior . May 23, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130608142317/http://www.doi.gov/whoweare/secretaryjewell.cfm . June 8, 2013.

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