Ann Veneman

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Ann Veneman
5th Executive Director of UNICEF
In office May 1, 2005 – April 30, 2010
Secretary General	Kofi Annan Ban Ki-moon
Preceded by	Carol Bellamy
Succeeded by	Anthony Lake
27th United States Secretary of Agriculture
In office January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Dan Glickman
Succeeded by	Mike Johanns
7th United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
In office June 27, 1991[1] – January 20, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Jack Parnell
Succeeded by	Richard Rominger
Personal details
Born	Ann Margaret Veneman (1949-06-29) June 29, 1949 (age 75) Modesto, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Parent(s)	John Veneman (father) Nita Bomberger (mother)
Education	University of California, Davis (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MPP) University of California, Hastings (JD)

Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States secretary of agriculture from 2001 to 2005. Veneman served for the entire first term of President George W. Bush, and she left to take the UNICEF position. Appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on January 18, 2005, she took over the post on May 1, 2005.^[2] A lawyer, Veneman has practiced law in Washington, DC and California, including being a deputy public defender.^[3] She has also served in other high-level positions in both the state and the federal government of the United States, including being appointed secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, serving from 1995 to 1999, as well as United States deputy secretary of agriculture, serving from 1991 to 1993. Throughout her public career, Veneman was the first woman to serve in a number of positions, including secretary of agriculture, deputy secretary of agriculture, and California's secretary of food and agriculture. She was also just the second woman to lead UNICEF, following her predecessor, Carol Bellamy.

Veneman serves as a co-leader of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center.^[4] She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.^[5]