Elaine Chao

Elaine Chao
Official portrait, 2019
18th United States Secretary of Transportation
In office
January 31, 2017 – January 11, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyJeffrey A. Rosen
Steven G. Bradbury (acting)
Preceded byAnthony Foxx
Succeeded byPete Buttigieg
24th United States Secretary of Labor
In office
January 29, 2001 – January 20, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byAlexis Herman
Succeeded byHilda Solis
12th Director of the Peace Corps
In office
October 8, 1991 – November 13, 1992
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byPaul Coverdell
Succeeded byCarol Bellamy
4th United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation
In office
April 19, 1989 – October 18, 1991[1]
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byMimi Weyforth Dawson
Succeeded byJames B. Busey IV
Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission
In office
April 29, 1988 – April 19, 1989
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded byEdward Hickey
Succeeded byJames J. Carey
Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission
In office
April 29, 1988 – April 19, 1989
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded byEdward Hickey
Succeeded byMing Hsu
Personal details
Born
Elaine Lan Chao

(1953-03-26) March 26, 1953 (age 71)
Taipei, Taiwan
Citizenship
  • Taiwan[2]
    (1953–1971)
  • United States (1972–present)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1993)
RelationsAngela Chao (sister)
Parent(s)James S. C. Chao
Ruth Mulan Chu
EducationMount Holyoke College (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)
Websiteelainechao.com
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese趙小蘭
Simplified Chinese赵小兰

Elaine Lan Chao (born March 26, 1953) is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as United States secretary of labor in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009 and as United States Secretary of Transportation in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Chao was the first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet or as secretary of transportation.[3][4] She resigned as transportation secretary after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan to waishengren parents who fled China as a result of the Chinese Civil War, Chao immigrated to the United States when she was eight years old. Her father founded the Foremost Group, an American shipping company based in New York. Chao was raised in Queens, New York, and on Long Island, and received degrees from Mount Holyoke College and Harvard Business School. She worked for financial institutions before being appointed to senior positions in the Department of Transportation under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, including chair of the Federal Maritime Commission (1988–1989) and Deputy Secretary of Transportation (1989–1991). She served as director of the Peace Corps from 1991 to 1992 and as president of the United Way of America from 1993 to 1996.

Chao has served on several Fortune 500 and nonprofit boards of directors, including the electric charger network provider ChargePoint since 2021.[5][6] She is married to U.S. senator Mitch McConnell.

  1. ^ Whitnah, Donald Robert (1998). U.S. Department of Transportation: A Reference History. Greenwood Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780313283406. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  2. ^ Winkler, Sigrid (June 20, 2012). "Taiwan's UN Dilemma: To Be or Not To Be". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  3. ^ "50 Women Who Made American Political History". Time. March 8, 2017. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  4. ^ Transition, Center for Presidential; mpruce (May 20, 2021). "Prominent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Served in the Federal Government". Center for Presidential Transition. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  5. ^ aftermarketNews Staff (December 3, 2021). "Elaine L. Chao Joins ChargePoint Board of Directors". aftermarketNews. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  6. ^ Staff, The Trucker News (August 27, 2021). "Former transportation secretary Chao joins board of directors at Hyliion". TheTrucker.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

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