Hazel R. O'Leary

Hazel Reid O'Leary
Hazel Reid O'Leary
7th United States Secretary of Energy
	In office; January 22, 1993 – January 20, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	James D. Watkins
Succeeded by	Federico Peña
Personal details
Born	May 17, 1937 (age 87)
Spouse(s)	John F. O'Leary (deceased)
Children	Carl O'Leary
Alma mater	Fisk University; Rutgers School of Law-Newark

Hazel Reid O'Leary (born May 17, 1937) was the seventh United States Secretary of Energy, from 1993 to 1997. She is the first woman and first and only African American to hold the position.

Early life and education

Born Hazel Reid in Newport News, Virginia, she was the daughter of doctors Russell E. and Hazel Reid. She has two sisters, Edna Reid and Marina Morse; and two brothers, Louis and William Morse.

After earning a bachelor's degree at Fisk University in Nashville, O'Leary earned her law degree from Rutgers School of Law—Newark.

Marriage and family

Reid married John F. O'Leary on April 24, 1980. He was a former deputy energy secretary and died in 1987. They have a son named Carl.

Career

O'Leary worked as a prosecutor in New Jersey and later worked for the consulting/accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. During the Carter Administration, O'Leary was made assistant administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, general counsel of the Community Services Administration, and administrator of the Economic Regulatory Administration at the Department of Energy.

In 1981, O'Leary and her husband established the consulting firm of O'Leary & Associates, where she served as vice president and general counsel. From 1989 to 1993, she worked as an executive vice president of the Northern States Power Company.

In 1993 President Bill Clinton picked O'Leary as Secretary of Energy.

In 2004, O'Leary was selected as President of her undergraduate alma mater, Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Preceded by James D. Watkins	United States Secretary of Energy 1993–1997	Succeeded by Federico Peña

v t e Cabinet of President William Clinton (1993 – 2001)
Vice President	Al Gore (1993 – 2001)
Secretary of State	Warren Christopher (1993 – 1997) • Madeleine Albright (1997 – 2001)
Secretary of the Treasury	Lloyd Bentsen (1993 – 1994) • Robert Rubin (1995 – 1999) • Lawrence Summers (1999 – 2001)
Secretary of Defense	Les Aspin (1993 – 1994) • William Perry (1994 – 1997) • William Cohen (1997 – 2001)
Attorney General	Janet Reno (1993 – 2001)
Secretary of the Interior	Bruce Babbitt (1993 – 2001)
Secretary of the Agriculture	Mike Espy (1993 – 1994) • Dan Glickman (1994 – 2001)
Secretary of Commerce	Ron Brown (1993 – 1996) • Mickey Kantor (1996 – 1997) • William M. Daley (1997 – 2000) • Norman Mineta (2000 – 2001)
Secretary of Labor	Robert Reich (1993 – 1997) • Alexis Herman (1997 – 2001)
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Donna Shalala (1993 – 2001)
Secretary of Education	Richard Riley (1993 – 2001)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Henry Cisneros (1993 – 1997) • Andrew Cuomo (1997 – 2001)
Secretary of Transportation	Federico Peña (1993 – 1997) • Rodney E. Slater (1997 – 2001)
Secretary of Energy	Hazel R. O'Leary (1993 – 1997) • Federico Peña (1997 – 1998) • Bill Richardson (1998 – 2001)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Jesse Brown (1993 – 1997) • Togo D. West, Jr. (1998 – 2000) • Hershel W. Gober, act. (2000 – 2001)
Chief of Staff	Mack McLarty (1993 - 1994) • Leon Panetta (1994 - 1997) • Erskine Bowles (1997 - 1998) • John Podesta (1998 - 2001)