nationality birth_date residence term_end alma_mater title profession preceded term_start spouse image name succeeded predecessor birth_place party website governor religion article_title
american 31 may 1953 arlington , texas march 31 , 2011 university of southern california commissioner of the texas education agency texas railroad commissioner lawyer , politician carole keeton strayhorn august 27 , 2012 january 3 , 1999 donna williams michael l williams-headshot . jpg michael williams barry smitherman robert scott midland , texas republican -lsb- http://tea.texas.gov/about_tea/leadership/commissioner/commissioner_s_biography/] rick 1999-2000 -rrb- rick perry -lrb- 2000-2011 -rrb- perry -lrb- 2012-2015 -rrb- george w. bush -lrb- roman catholic michael l. williams

michael l. williams

`` for other persons of the same name , see michael williams -lrb- disambiguation -rrb- michael lawrence williams -lrb- born may 31 , 1953 -rrb- is the commissioner of education , which leads the texas education agency .
he was appointed to the position on august 27 , 2012 .
he is also a former member of the elected texas railroad commission , a regulatory body over , not railroads , but the oil and natural gas industries .
williams is the first african american to hold a statewide elected executive office in texas history .
he was appointed to the commission by governor george w. bush in 1999 , and won elections in 2000 , 2002 , and 2008 to retain the office before eventually resigning in 2011 .
he is also the fourth african american to be elected to statewide office overall following morris overstreet , wallace b. jefferson , and dale wainwright .
williams ran unsuccessfully in the republican primary on may 29 , 2012 , for the redrawn 25th congressional district seat that stretches southward from tarrant to hays counties .
