United States Secretary of Commerce - wikipedia United States Secretary of Commerce Secretary of Commerce of the United States Seal of the Department of Commerce Flag of the Secretary of Commerce Incumbent Wilbur L. Ross since February 28, 2017 United States Department of Commerce Style Mr. Secretary Member of Cabinet Reports to The President Seat Washington, D.C. Appointer The President with Senate advice and consent Term length No fixed term Constituting instrument 15 U.S.C. § 1501 Precursor Secretary of Commerce and Labor Formation March 15, 1913 ; 104 years ago ( 1913 - 03 - 15 ) First holder William Cox Redfield Succession Tenth Deputy Deputy Secretary of Commerce Salary Executive Schedule, level 1 Website www.commerce.gov The Commerce Secretary 's office as it looked in the mid-20th century. The United States Secretary of Commerce ( SecCom ) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The Secretary is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate and serves in the President 's Cabinet. The Secretary is concerned with promoting American businesses and industries ; the Department states its mission to be `` to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce ''. Until 1913 there was one Secretary of Commerce and Labor, uniting this department with the Department of Labor, which is now headed by a separate Secretary of Labor. The current Commerce Secretary is Wilbur Ross, who was nominated by President Donald Trump and approved by the Senate on February 28, 2017. Contents 1 List of Secretaries of Commerce 2 Living former Secretaries of Commerce 3 Line of succession 4 References 5 External links List of Secretaries of Commerce Parties No party ( 1 ) Democratic ( 20 ) Republican ( 18 ) Status Denotes acting Commerce Secretary No. Portrait Name State of Residence Took Office Left Office President ( s ) William C. Redfield New York March 5, 1913 October 31, 1919 Woodrow Wilson Joshua W. Alexander Missouri December 16, 1919 March 4, 1921 Herbert C. Hoover California March 5, 1921 August 21, 1928 Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge William F. Whiting Massachusetts August 22, 1928 March 4, 1929 5 Robert P. Lamont Illinois March 5, 1929 August 7, 1932 Herbert C. Hoover 6 Roy D. Chapin Michigan August 8, 1932 March 3, 1933 7 Daniel C. Roper South Carolina March 4, 1933 December 23, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt 8 Harry L. Hopkins New York December 24, 1938 September 18, 1940 9 Jesse H. Jones Texas September 19, 1940 March 1, 1945 10 Henry A. Wallace Iowa March 2, 1945 September 20, 1946 Harry S. Truman -- Alfred Schindler Acting September 20, 1946 October 7, 1946 11 W. Averell Harriman New York October 7, 1946 April 22, 1948 12 Charles W. Sawyer Ohio May 6, 1948 January 20, 1953 13 Sinclair Weeks Massachusetts January 21, 1953 November 10, 1958 Dwight D. Eisenhower -- Lewis L. Strauss Acting West Virginia November 13, 1958 June 30, 1959 14 Frederick H. Mueller Michigan June 30, 1959 August 10, 1959 August 10, 1959 January 19, 1961 15 Luther H. Hodges North Carolina January 21, 1961 January 15, 1965 John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson 16 John T. Connor New Jersey January 18, 1965 January 31, 1967 17 Alexander B. Trowbridge New York January 31, 1967 June 14, 1967 June 14, 1967 March 1, 1968 18 Cyrus R. Smith New York March 6, 1968 January 19, 1969 19 Maurice H. Stans New York January 21, 1969 February 15, 1972 Richard Nixon 20 Peter G. Peterson Illinois February 29, 1972 February 1, 1973 21 Frederick B. Dent South Carolina February 2, 1973 March 26, 1975 Gerald Ford 22 Rogers C.B. Morton Maryland May 1, 1975 February 2, 1976 23 Elliot L. Richardson Massachusetts February 2, 1976 January 20, 1977 24 Juanita M. Kreps North Carolina January 23, 1977 October 31, 1979 Jimmy Carter -- Luther H. Hodges, Jr. Acting North Carolina October 31, 1979 January 9, 1980 25 Philip M. Klutznick Illinois January 9, 1980 January 20, 1981 26 Malcolm Baldrige Connecticut January 20, 1981 July 25, 1987 Ronald Reagan -- Clarence J. Brown Jr. Acting Ohio July 25, 1987 October 19, 1987 27 C. William Verity, Jr. Ohio October 19, 1987 January 30, 1989 28 Robert A. Mosbacher Texas January 31, 1989 January 15, 1992 George H.W. Bush -- Rockwell A. Schnabel Acting January 15, 1992 February 27, 1992 29 Barbara H. Franklin Pennsylvania February 27, 1992 January 20, 1993 30 Ronald H. Brown New York January 20, 1993 April 3, 1996 Bill Clinton -- Mary L. Good Acting Texas April 3, 1996 April 12, 1996 31 Mickey Kantor Tennessee April 12, 1996 January 21, 1997 32 William M. Daley Illinois January 30, 1997 July 19, 2000 -- Robert L. Mallett Acting July 19, 2000 July 21, 2000 33 Norman Y. Mineta California July 21, 2000 January 20, 2001 34 Donald L. Evans Texas January 20, 2001 February 7, 2005 George W. Bush 35 Carlos M. Gutierrez Florida February 7, 2005 January 20, 2009 -- Otto J. Wolff Acting January 20, 2009 March 26, 2009 Barack Obama 36 Gary F. Locke Washington March 26, 2009 August 1, 2011 -- Rebecca M. Blank Acting Minnesota August 1, 2011 October 21, 2011 37 John E. Bryson New York October 21, 2011 June 11, 2012 -- Rebecca M. Blank Acting Minnesota June 11, 2012 June 1, 2013 -- Cameron Kerry Acting Massachusetts June 1, 2013 June 26, 2013 38 Penny Pritzker Illinois June 26, 2013 January 20, 2017 -- Vacant January 20, 2017 February 28, 2017 Donald Trump 39 Wilbur L. Ross Florida February 28, 2017 present Source : Department of Commerce : Secretaries Living former Secretaries of Commerce See also : List of living former members of the United States Cabinet As of December 2017, there are eleven living former Secretaries of Commerce, the oldest being Frederick B. Dent ( served 1973 - 1975, born 1922 ). The most recent Secretary of Commerce to die was Juanita M. Kreps ( served 1977 - 1979, born 1921 ), on July 5, 2010. The most recently serving Secretary to die was Ron Brown ( 1993 - 1996, born 1941 ), who died in office on April 3, 1996. Name Term of office Date of birth ( and age ) Peter G. Peterson 1972 -- 1973 ( 1926 - 06 - 05 ) June 5, 1926 ( age 91 ) Frederick B. Dent 1973 -- 1975 ( 1922 - 08 - 17 ) August 17, 1922 ( age 95 ) Barbara H. Franklin 1992 -- 1993 ( 1940 - 03 - 04 ) March 4, 1940 ( age 77 ) Mickey Kantor 1996 -- 1997 ( 1939 - 08 - 07 ) August 7, 1939 ( age 78 ) William M. Daley 1997 -- 2000 ( 1948 - 08 - 09 ) August 9, 1948 ( age 69 ) Norman Mineta 2000 -- 2001 ( 1931 - 11 - 12 ) November 12, 1931 ( age 86 ) Donald Evans 2001 -- 2005 ( 1946 - 07 - 27 ) July 27, 1946 ( age 71 ) Carlos Gutierrez 2005 -- 2009 ( 1953 - 11 - 04 ) November 4, 1953 ( age 64 ) Gary F. Locke 2009 -- 2011 ( 1950 - 01 - 21 ) January 21, 1950 ( age 67 ) John Bryson 2011 -- 2012 ( 1943 - 07 - 24 ) July 24, 1943 ( age 74 ) Penny Pritzker 2013 -- 2017 ( 1959 - 05 - 02 ) May 2, 1959 ( age 58 ) Line of succession The line of succession for the Secretary of Commerce is as follows : Deputy Secretary of Commerce General Counsel of the Department of Commerce Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Administration Boulder Laboratories Site Manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology References Jump up ^ https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19 Jump up ^ `` US Department of Commerce, Directives Management Program ''. Retrieved September 22, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Milestones ''. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved October 2, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Commerce ''. federalregister.gov. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 29. External links Official website Current U.S. order of precedence ( ceremonial ) Preceded by Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture Order of Precedence of the United States as Secretary of the Treasury Succeeded by Alex Acosta as Secretary of Labor Current U.S. presidential line of succession Preceded by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue 10th in line Succeeded by Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta United States Secretaries of Commerce Secretaries of Commerce and Labor Cortelyou Metcalf Straus Nagel Secretaries of Commerce Redfield Alexander Hoover Whiting Lamont Chapin Roper Hopkins Jones Wallace Harriman Sawyer Weeks Strauss Mueller Hodges Connor Trowbridge Smith Stans Peterson Dent Morton Richardson Kreps Klutznick Baldrige Verity Mosbacher Franklin Brown Kantor Daley Mineta Evans Gutierrez Locke Bryson Pritzker Ross Agencies under the United States Department of Commerce Headquarters : Herbert C. Hoover Building Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce Vacant, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Deputy Secretary of Commerce Economic Development Administration National Technical Information Service Minority Business Development Agency National Telecommunications and Information Administration Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Bureau of Industry and Security Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Economics and Statistics Administration Bureau of Economic Analysis Census Bureau Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade International Trade Administration Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator for NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Patent and Trademark Office Leaders of the United States federal executive departments Current Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs Past Commerce and Labor Health, Education, and Welfare Navy Post Office War Presidential line of succession in the United States of America Vice President ( Mike Pence ) Speaker of the House of Representatives ( Paul Ryan ) President pro tempore of the Senate ( Orrin Hatch ) Secretary of State ( Rex Tillerson ) Secretary of the Treasury ( Steven Mnuchin ) Secretary of Defense ( Jim Mattis ) Attorney General ( Jeff Sessions ) Secretary of the Interior ( Ryan Zinke ) Secretary of Agriculture ( Sonny Perdue ) Secretary of Commerce ( Wilbur Ross ) Secretary of Labor ( Alex Acosta ) Secretary of Health and Human Services ( Eric Hargan ) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ( Ben Carson ) Secretary of Transportation ( Elaine Chao ) Secretary of Energy ( Rick Perry ) Secretary of Education ( Betsy DeVos ) Secretary of Veterans Affairs ( David Shulkin ) Secretary of Homeland Security ( Kirstjen Nielsen ) Jump up ^ Although Elaine Chao is the current Secretary of Transportation, she is not a natural - born citizen ( acquired U.S. citizenship by naturalization ) and thus ineligible for the Presidency. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Secretary_of_Commerce&oldid=814041724 '' Categories : Lists of members of the Cabinet of the United States United States Secretaries of Commerce Cabinet of the United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Esperanto فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 6 December 2017, at 15 : 54. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the head of department of commerce
Answer: Wilbur Ross