United States Secretary of Homeland Security

The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security

United States Department of Homeland Security

The 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's

President of the United States

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....

Cabinet

United States Cabinet

The 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 Act

Homeland Security Act

The 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, 2001

September 11, 2001 attacks

The 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 Guard

United States Coast Guard

The 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 Protection

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.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 Patrol

United States Border Patrol

The 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 Service

United States Secret Service

The 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 Agency

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...

(FEMA). It did not, however, include the FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The 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 CIA

Central Intelligence Agency

The 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 Obama

Barack Obama

Barack 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 Napolitano

Janet Napolitano

Janet 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 succession

United States presidential line of succession

The 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 President

Vice President of the United States

The 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 House

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

The 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 Senate

President pro tempore of the United States Senate

The 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 Act

USA PATRIOT Act

The 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 Act

Presidential Succession Act

The 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 Congress

109th United States Congress

The 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.	Name	State of Residence	Took Office	Left Office
	Tom Ridge Tom Ridge Thomas 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...	Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The 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...	January 24, 2003	February 1, 2005	George W. Bush George W. Bush George 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....
-	James M. Loy	Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The 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...	February 1, 2005	February 15, 2005
	Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff Michael 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...	New Jersey New Jersey New 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...	February 15, 2005	January 21, 2009
	Janet Napolitano Janet Napolitano Janet 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...	Arizona Arizona Arizona ; 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...	January 21, 2009	Incumbent	Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack 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...

Living former Secretaries of Homeland Security

, two regular and one acting former Secretaries of Homeland Security were alive, the oldest being James Loy

James Loy

Admiral 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 Ridge Tom Ridge Thomas 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...	2003–2005	August 26, 1945 (age 66)
James Loy James Loy Admiral 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 Chertoff Michael Chertoff Michael 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
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
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 baker
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
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
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
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

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