# United States Secretary of the Interior

The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural resources, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service. The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the president of the United States. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries.
As the policies and activities of the Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the Western United States, the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949, Rogers Morton, was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the Mississippi River.
Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$246,400, as of January 2024.
The current interior secretary is Doug Burgum, who was sworn in on February 1, 2025.

## Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of the interior is as follows:
* Deputy Secretary of the Interior
* Solicitor of the Interior
* Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget
* Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management
* Assistant Secretary for Water and Science
* Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks
* Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
* Director, Security, Safety, and Law Enforcement, Bureau of Reclamation
* Central Region Director, US Geological Survey
* Intermountain Regional Director, National Park Service
* Region 6 (Mountain-Prairie Region) Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service
* Colorado State Director, Bureau of Land Management
* Regional Solicitor, Rocky Mountain Region

## List of secretaries of the interior

| Number | Name | State of residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) |
| 1 | Thomas Ewing | Ohio | March 8, 1849 | July 22, 1850 | Zachary Taylor (1849–1850) |
| 1 | Thomas Ewing | Ohio | March 8, 1849 | July 22, 1850 | Millard Fillmore (1850–1853) |
| 2 | Thomas McKennan | Pennsylvania | August 15, 1850 | August 26, 1850 | Millard Fillmore (1850–1853) |
| 3 | Alexander Stuart | Virginia | September 14, 1850 | March 7, 1853 | Millard Fillmore (1850–1853) |
| 4 | Robert McClelland | Michigan | March 8, 1853 | March 9, 1857 | Franklin Pierce (1853–1857) |
| 5 | Jacob Thompson | Mississippi | March 10, 1857 | January 8, 1861 | James Buchanan (1857–1861) |
| 6 | Caleb Smith | Indiana | March 5, 1861 | December 31, 1862 | Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) |
| 7 | John Usher | Indiana | January 1, 1863 | May 15, 1865 | Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) |
| 7 | John Usher | Indiana | January 1, 1863 | May 15, 1865 | Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) |
| 8 | James Harlan | Iowa | May 16, 1865 | August 31, 1866 | Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) |
| 9 | Orville Browning | Illinois | September 1, 1866 | March 4, 1869 | Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) |
| 10 | Jacob Cox | Ohio | March 5, 1869 | October 31, 1870 | Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) |
| 11 | Columbus Delano | Ohio | November 1, 1870 | September 30, 1875 | Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) |
| 12 | Zachariah Chandler | Michigan | October 19, 1875 | March 11, 1877 | Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) |
| 13 | Carl Schurz | Missouri | March 12, 1877 | March 7, 1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes (1887–1881) |
| 14 | Samuel J. Kirkwood | Iowa | March 8, 1881 | April 17, 1882 | James A. Garfield (1881) |
| 14 | Samuel J. Kirkwood | Iowa | March 8, 1881 | April 17, 1882 | Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) |
| 15 | Henry M. Teller | Colorado | April 18, 1882 | March 3, 1885 | Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) |
| 16 | Lucius Lamar | Mississippi | March 6, 1885 | January 10, 1888 | Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) |
| 17 | William Vilas | Wisconsin | January 16, 1888 | March 6, 1889 | Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) |
| 18 | John Noble | Missouri | March 7, 1889 | March 6, 1893 | Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893) |
| 19 | Hoke Smith | Georgia | March 6, 1893 | September 1, 1896 | Grover Cleveland (1893–1897) |
| 20 | David R. Francis | Missouri | September 3, 1896 | March 5, 1897 | Grover Cleveland (1893–1897) |
| 21 | Cornelius Bliss | New York | March 6, 1897 | February 19, 1899 | William McKinley (1897–1901) |
| 22 | Ethan Hitchcock | Missouri | February 20, 1899 | March 4, 1907 | William McKinley (1897–1901) |
| 22 | Ethan Hitchcock | Missouri | February 20, 1899 | March 4, 1907 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 23 | James Garfield | Ohio | March 5, 1907 | March 4, 1909 | Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
| 24 | Richard A. Ballinger | Washington | March 6, 1909 | March 12, 1911 | William Howard Taft (1909–1913) |
| 25 | Walter L. Fisher | Illinois | March 13, 1911 | March 5, 1913 | William Howard Taft (1909–1913) |
| 26 | Franklin Lane | California | March 6, 1913 | February 29, 1920 | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
| – | Alexander Vogelsang Acting | California | February 29, 1920 | March 13, 1920 | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
| 27 | John Payne | Illinois | March 15, 1920 | March 4, 1921 | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
| 28 | Albert B. Fall | New Mexico | March 5, 1921 | March 4, 1923 | Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) |
| 29 | Hubert Work | Colorado | March 5, 1923 | July 24, 1928 | Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) |
| 29 | Hubert Work | Colorado | March 5, 1923 | July 24, 1928 | Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
| 30 | Roy West | Illinois | July 25, 1928 | March 4, 1929 | Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
| 31 | Ray Lyman Wilbur | California | March 5, 1929 | March 4, 1933 | Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) |
| 32 | Harold L. Ickes | Illinois | March 4, 1933 | February 15, 1946 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
| 32 | Harold L. Ickes | Illinois | March 4, 1933 | February 15, 1946 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| – | Oscar L. Chapman Acting | Colorado | February 15, 1946 | March 18, 1946 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 33 | Julius Krug | Wisconsin | March 18, 1946 | December 1, 1949 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 34 | Oscar L. Chapman | Colorado | December 1, 1949 | January 20, 1953 | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
| 35 | Douglas McKay | Oregon | January 21, 1953 | April 15, 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| – | Clarence Davis Acting | Nebraska | April 15, 1956 | June 8, 1956 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 36 | Fred Seaton | Nebraska | June 8, 1956 | January 20, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 37 | Stewart Udall | Arizona | January 21, 1961 | January 20, 1969 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
| 37 | Stewart Udall | Arizona | January 21, 1961 | January 20, 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| 38 | Wally Hickel | Alaska | January 24, 1969 | November 25, 1970 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| – | Fred J. Russell Acting | California | November 25, 1970 | January 29, 1971 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 39 | Rogers Morton | Maryland | January 29, 1971 | April 30, 1975 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 39 | Rogers Morton | Maryland | January 29, 1971 | April 30, 1975 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| – | Kent Frizzell Acting | Kansas | April 30, 1975 | June 12, 1975 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| 40 | Stanley K. Hathaway | Wyoming | June 12, 1975 | October 9, 1975 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| – | Kent Frizzell Acting | Kansas | October 9, 1975 | October 17, 1975 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| 41 | Thomas S. Kleppe | North Dakota | October 17, 1975 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| – | Alfred Albert Acting | | January 20, 1977 | January 23, 1977 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 42 | Cecil D. Andrus | Idaho | January 23, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 43 | James G. Watt | Colorado | January 23, 1981 | November 8, 1983 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| – | J. J. Simmons Acting | New Jersey | November 8, 1983 | November 18, 1983 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 44 | William P. Clark | California | November 18, 1983 | February 7, 1985 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 45 | Donald P. Hodel | Virginia | February 8, 1985 | January 20, 1989 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| – | Earl Gjelde Acting | Virginia | January 20, 1989 | February 3, 1989 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 46 | Manuel Lujan Jr. | New Mexico | February 3, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 47 | Bruce Babbitt | Arizona | January 22, 1993 | January 19, 2001 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| – | Thomas Slonaker Acting | Arizona | January 20, 2001 | January 31, 2001 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| – | Thomas Slonaker Acting | Arizona | January 20, 2001 | January 31, 2001 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 48 | Gale Norton | Colorado | January 31, 2001 | March 31, 2006 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Lynn Scarlett Acting | California | April 1, 2006 | May 26, 2006 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 49 | Dirk Kempthorne | Idaho | May 26, 2006 | January 19, 2009 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Lynn Scarlett Acting | California | January 19, 2009 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Lynn Scarlett Acting | California | January 19, 2009 | January 20, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 50 | Ken Salazar | Colorado | January 20, 2009 | April 12, 2013 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 51 | Sally Jewell | Washington | April 12, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| – | Kevin Haugrud Acting | | January 20, 2017 | March 1, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 52 | Ryan Zinke | Montana | March 1, 2017 | January 2, 2019 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 53 | David Bernhardt | Colorado | January 2, 2019 | April 11, 2019 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 53 | David Bernhardt | Colorado | April 11, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| – | Scott de la Vega Acting | New York | January 20, 2021 | March 16, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| 54 | Deb Haaland | New Mexico | March 16, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| – | Walter Cruickshank Acting | | January 20, 2025 | February 1, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) |
| 55 | Doug Burgum | North Dakota | February 1, 2025 | present | Donald Trump (2025–present) |