United States Secretary of Energy

United States Secretary of Energy
Seal of the department
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent Jennifer Granholm since February 25, 2021
United States Department of Energy
Style	Madam Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	United States Cabinet United States National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	James V. Forrestal Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	42 U.S.C. § 7131
Formation	August 6, 1977
First holder	James R. Schlesinger
Succession	Fifteenth[1]
Deputy	Deputy Secretary
Salary	Executive Schedule, level I
Website	Energy.gov

The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act, establishing the department.^[2] The energy secretary and the department originally focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and the maintenance of environmental quality.^[3] Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post.^[4] Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton's first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position.^[5] The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second energy secretary, Federico Peña.^[6] Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, serving under the administration of George W. Bush. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president Barack Obama. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.^[7]

President Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of Energy, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, was confirmed on February 25, 2021. Granholm is the second woman to lead the Department of Energy.^[8]