[[File:Seal of the United States Department of Commerce.svg|thumb|right|Seal of the United States Department of Commerce]] A '''United States under secretary of commerce''' is one of several positions in the [[United States Department of Commerce]], serving under the [[United States Secretary of Commerce]].
==History== In June 1939, [[Edward J. Noble]] was appointed the first under secretary of commerce<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gouverneurmuseum.org/articles/people/noble/noble.html |title=The Noble Family |access-date=2017-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624003545/http://www.gouverneurmuseum.org/articles/people/noble/noble.html |archive-date=2016-06-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a role created especially for him by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] that had a salary of $10,000 per year.<ref name="1939NewPost">{{cite news |last1=TIMES |first1=Special to THE NEW YORK |title=NOBLE ENTERS NEW POST; Sworn in as the First Under Secretary of Commerce |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/06/10/archives/noble-enters-new-post-sworn-in-as-the-first-under-secretary-of.html |access-date=6 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 June 1939}}</ref> He was succeeded by [[Wayne Chatfield-Taylor]], the former [[Assistant Secretary of the Treasury]] who later served as president of the [[Export-Import Bank of the United States|Export-Import Bank]].<ref name="WCTObit1967">{{cite news |last1=Times |first1=Special to The New York TimesThe New York |title=Wayne Chatfield Taylor Dead; Roosevelt and Truman Aide, 73; Banker Held Major Posts in Commerce, Treasury and the Export-Import Bank In Many Public Posts Envoy at Trade Meetings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/23/archives/wayne-chatfield-taylor-dead-roosevelt-and-truman-aide-73-banker.html |access-date=6 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 November 1967}}</ref> The role was later held by various prominent people, including [[Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney]] (under President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]]),<ref name="Egan1950">{{cite news |last1=Egan |first1=Charles E. |title=C.V. Whitney Offers Resignation As Under Secretary of Commerce; OFFERS TO RESIGN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/03/28/archives/cv-whitney-offers-resignation-as-under-secretary-of-commerce-offers.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 March 1950}}</ref> and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.]] (under Presidents [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]]), when the job had a salary of $21,000 per year.<ref name="1963Appointment">{{cite news |title=Franklin Roosevelt Jr. Named Under Secretary of Commerce; Post Pays $21,000 a Year --Holton, a Hodges Aide, Given Higher Post F.D. ROOSEVELT JR. IS NAMED TO POST |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/02/01/archives/franklin-roosevelt-jr-named-under-secretary-of-commerce-post-pays.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 February 1963}}</ref><ref name="1964Letter">{{cite news |title=Letters to The Times; Recovery for Appalachia; Under Secretary of Commerce Cites Plan for Attacking Poverty |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/02/archives/letters-to-the-times-recovery-for-appalachia-under-secretary-of.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 April 1964}}</ref> On December 13, 1979, President [[Jimmy Carter]] replaced the role of under secretary, which was then held by [[Luther H. Hodges Jr.]], with [[United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce]], and Hodges became the first holder.<ref name="Smith1979">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Terence |title=A Chicago Developer Named Commerce Chief |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/17/archives/a-chicago-developer-named-commerce-chief-new-commerce-chief-named.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 November 1979}}</ref>
===Transportation=== In 1950, President Truman proposed transferring the functions of the [[Maritime Commission]] to the Department of Commerce to be led by the newly created [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation]].<ref name="1950Department">{{cite news |title=A New Commerce Department |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/03/14/archives/a-new-commerce-department.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 March 1950}}</ref> Truman had created [[Civil Aeronautics Administration (United States)|Civil Aeronautics Administration]] and transferred the [[Bureau of Public Roads]] within the department the previous year. In 1966, all transportation activities of Commerce were moved to the newly established [[United States Department of Transportation]], which was led by former Under Secretary [[Alan Stephenson Boyd]].<ref name="Morris1966">{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=John D. |title=SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION; 12th Man Joining the Cabinet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/02/archives/secretary-of-transportation-12th-man-joining-the-cabinet.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 October 1966}}</ref>
==Current positions== The under secretary positions are:<ref name="commerce">{{cite web |title=Leadership |url=https://www.commerce.gov/about/leadership |website=www.commerce.gov |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Commerce]] |access-date=21 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs]] (created June 16, 1982)<ref>{{cite web | title=US CODE: Title 15,1503a. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1503a- | access-date= September 22, 2007 }}</ref> * [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security]] (created 2001) * [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property]] (created January 17, 2001) * [[Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade]] (created January 1, 1989) * [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere]] (created December 1971) * [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology]] (created 2010) * [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development]] (created 2022)
==Former under secretaries== ===List of former under secretaries of commerce=== {| class="wikitable" !Image !Name<ref name="archives">{{cite web |title=General Records of the Department of Commerce |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/040.html |website=www.archives.gov |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] |access-date=19 June 2020 |language=en |date=15 August 2016}}</ref> !Term began !Term ended ![[President of the United States|President(s)]] served under |- | [[File:Edward J. Noble.jpg|125px]] |[[Edward J. Noble]] |1939 |1940 |rowspan=2|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] |- | [[File:Presents U.S. Treasury views. Washington, D.C., May 12. Wayne Chatfield Taylor, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, today told the Senate Banking and Currency Committee that the Treasury LCCN2016873568.jpg|125px]] |[[Wayne Chatfield-Taylor]] |1940 |1945 |- | |[[Alfred Schindler (industrialist)|Alfred Schindler]] |1945 |1946 |rowspan=4|[[Harry S. Truman]] |- | [[File:WCFoster Portrait.jpg|125px]] |[[William Chapman Foster]] |1946<ref>{{cite news |title=W.C. Foster Gets Commerce Office; in Commerce Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/11/30/archives/wc-foster-gets-commerce-office-in-commerce-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 November 1946}}</ref><ref name="1946Appointment">{{cite news |title=Foster Takes Commerce Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/12/06/archives/foster-takes-commerce-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 December 1946}}</ref> |1948<ref name="1948Resignation">{{cite news |title=Foster Resigns Commerce Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/21/archives/foster-resigns-commerce-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=21 May 1948}}</ref> |- | [[File:CharlesSawyer.jpg|125px]] |[[Charles W. Sawyer]] |1948 |1949 |- | [[File:Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney.jpg|125px]] |[[Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney]] |1949<ref name="1949Appointment">{{cite news |title=Changes Federal Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/02/25/archives/changes-federal-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 February 1949}}</ref> |1950 |- | [[File:W. Walter Williams.png|125px]] |[[W. Walter Williams]] |1952<ref name="1953Appointment">{{cite news |title=Senate Unit Backs 3 for Commerce Jobs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/01/24/archives/senate-unit-backs-3-for-commerce-jobs.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 January 1953}}</ref> |1958 |rowspan=2|[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] |- | |[[Philip A. Ray]] |1959<ref name="1959Confirmation">{{cite news |title=COMMERCE AIDE BACKED; Philip Ray Is Confirmed as the Under Secretary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/08/28/archives/commerce-aide-backed-philip-ray-is-confirmed-as-the-under-secretary.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 August 1959}}</ref> |1961 |- | |[[Edward Gudeman]] |1961<ref name="1961Appointment">{{cite news |title=Senators Approve Williams for Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/01/31/archives/senators-approve-williams-for-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=31 January 1961}}</ref> |1963<ref name="1963Resignation">{{cite news |title=Commerce Aide to Resign |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/01/16/archives/commerce-aide-to-resign.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 January 1963}}</ref> |rowspan=1|[[John F. Kennedy]] |- |[[File:Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (US Congressman from New York).jpg|125px]] |[[Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.]] |1963 |1965 |rowspan=1|[[John F. Kennedy]]<br>[[Lyndon B. Johnson]] |- |[[File:LeRoy Collins.jpg|125px]] |[[LeRoy Collins]] |1965 |1966 | rowspan="4" |[[Lyndon B. Johnson]] |- | |[[John Herbert Hollomon Jr.]] |1967<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frey |first=Donald |title=Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 5 |url=https://www.nae.edu/188876/J-HERBERT-HOLLOMON-19191985 |website=National Academy of Engineering (NAE)}}</ref> |1967 |- | |[[Howard J. Samuels]] |1967 |1969 |- | |[[Joseph W. Bartlett]] |1968<ref name="1968Nomination">{{cite news |title=Commerce Aide Named |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/07/26/archives/commerce-aide-named.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 July 1968}}</ref> |1969 |- | |[[Rocco C. Siciliano]] |1969<ref name="Semple1969">{{cite news |last1=Semple Jr |first1=Robert B. |title=Most Nixon Aides in Top Echelons Still Unnamed; Large Gaps Remain in Some Key Federal Agencies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/18/archives/most-nixon-aides-in-top-echelons-still-unnamed-large-gaps-remain-in.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 January 1969}}</ref> |1971<ref name="1971Resignation">{{cite news |title=Washington: For the Record |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/03/archives/washington-for-the-record.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 March 1971}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rocco C. Siciliano Business |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/23/archives/article-20-no-title.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 October 1971}}</ref> |rowspan=2|[[Richard Nixon]] |- |[[File:James Thomas Lynn official portrait.jpg|125px]] |[[James Thomas Lynn]] |1971<ref name="1971Confirmation">{{cite news |title=Washington: For the Record |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/27/archives/washington-for-the-record.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 April 1971}}</ref> |1973 |- | |[[John K. Tabor]] |1973<ref name="Apple1973">{{cite news |last1=Apple Jr |first1=R. W. |title=President Will Not Testify In Inquiries on Watergate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/30/archives/president-willnot-testify-in-inquiries-on-watergate-white-house.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 May 1973}}</ref> |1975<ref name="Honan1999">{{cite news |last1=Honan |first1=William H. |title=John K. Tabor, 78, Lawyer and Official In Commerce Dept. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/12/us/john-k-tabor-78-lawyer-and-official-in-commerce-dept.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 12, 1999 |language=en}}</ref> |rowspan=3|[[Gerald Ford]] |- |[[File:James A. Baker III, U.S. Secretary of State (2380044355).jpg|125px]] |[[James Baker]] |1975<ref>{{cite news |agency=United Press International |date=July 23, 1975 |title=Pittsburgh Businessman Ford Treasury Nominee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/40424569/ |work=The Leader-Times |location=Kittanning, PA |url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |page=1}}</ref> |1976 |- | |[[Edward O. Vetter]] |1976<ref>{{cite news |date=June 24, 1976 |title=President Ford Wednesday Nominated Edward O. Vetter of Dallas, Tex., to be undersecretary of commerce |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/86832589/ |work=Santa Ana Register |location=Santa Ana, CA |url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |page=4}}</ref> |1977 |- | |[[Sidney Harman]] |1977 |1978<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sloane |first1=Leonard |title=Back to Business For a Sound Pioneer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/26/archives/business-people-back-to-business-for-a-sound-pioneer.html |work=The New York Times |date=26 September 1979}}</ref> |rowspan=2|[[Jimmy Carter]] |- | |[[Luther H. Hodges Jr.]] |1978<ref>{{cite news |title=Son of Ex-Secretary Picked |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/06/archives/son-of-exsecretary-picked.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 March 1979}}</ref> |1979 |}
===List of former under secretaries of commerce for transportation=== {| class="wikitable" !Image !Name<ref name="archives"/> !Term began !Term ended ![[President of the United States|President(s)]] served under |- |[[File:Philip B. Fleming (1).jpg|125px]] |[[Philip Bracken Fleming|Philip B. Fleming]] |1950<ref name="1950Nomination">{{cite book |title=Nominations to United States Maritime Commission and to Federal Maritime Board |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wB1HNn06l3MC&pg=RA8-PA11 |access-date=12 March 2023 |publisher=United States Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce |date=28 June 1950}}</ref> |1951<ref name="1951Confirmation"/> |rowspan=3|[[Harry S. Truman]] |- | |[[Delos W. Rentzel]] |1951<ref name="1951Confirmation">{{cite news |title=Rentzel Is Confirmed for Commerce Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/04/18/archives/rentzel-is-confirmed-for-commerce-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 April 1951}}</ref> |1951<ref name="1951Resignation">{{cite news |title=Rentzel Resigns as Sawyer's Aide; Leaves Commerce Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/11/13/archives/rentzel-resigns-as-sawyers-aide-leaves-commerce-post.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=13 November 1951}}</ref> |- | |[[Jack Garrett Scott]] |1952<ref name="1952Appointment">{{cite news |last1=TIMES |first1=Special to THE NEW YORK |title=BENDETSEN NAMED UNDER SECRETARY |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/24/archives/article-4-no-title.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 April 1952}}</ref><ref name="1952Sworn">{{cite news |title=Scott Sworn as Commerce Aide |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/05/09/archives/scott-sworn-as-commerce-aide.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 May 1952}}</ref> |1953<ref name="Williams1953">{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=C. Dickerman |title=Transportation Regulation and the Department of Commerce |journal=[[The Yale Law Journal]] |date=March 1953 |volume=62: 563 |page=568 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8187&context=ylj |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> |- | |[[Robert B. Murray Jr.]] |1953<ref name="Trussel1953">{{cite news |last1=Trussel |first1=C. P. |title=SENATE CONFIRMS 3 COMMERCE AIDES; Approves Williams, Anderson and Murray -- Consideration of Stassen Is Slated Today |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/01/27/archives/senate-confirms-3-commerce-aides-approves-williams-anderson-and.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 January 1953}}</ref> |1955 |rowspan=3|[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] |- | |[[Louis S. Rothschild]] |1955<ref>{{cite news |title=Rothschild Takes Oath Today |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/03/02/archives/rothschild-takes-oath-today.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 March 1955}}</ref> |1958<ref name="archives"/> |- |[[File:John J. Allen, 1950.jpg|125px]] |[[John J. Allen Jr.]] |1959 |1961 |- | |[[Clarence D. Martin Jr.]] |1961 |1965<ref name="wsu">{{cite web |title=Guide to the Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. Papers 1916-1976 |url=http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc/finders/cg449.htm |website=ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu |publisher=[[Washington State University|Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections]] |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref> |rowspan=1|[[John F. Kennedy]]<br>[[Lyndon B. Johnson]] |- |[[File:Alan stephenson boyd.jpg|125px]] |[[Alan Stephenson Boyd]] |1965<ref name="Blair1965">{{cite news |last1=Blair |first1=William M. |title=PRESIDENT NAMES AIR AGENCY HEADS; 8 Top Federal Posts Filled -- Boyd, Head of C.A.B., Gets Transport Job |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/04/28/archives/president-names-air-agency-heads-8-top-federal-posts-filled-boyd.html |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 April 1965}}</ref> |1966 |rowspan=1|[[Lyndon B. Johnson]] |- |}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/040.html General Records of the Department of Commerce] at the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]]
{{USDC agencies}}
[[Category:United States Department of Commerce|Under Secretary]] [[Category:United States under secretaries of commerce| ]]