Norman Mineta

Norman Mineta
Mineta c. 2001
14th United States Secretary of Transportation
In office January 25, 2001 – July 7, 2006
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Rodney Slater
Succeeded by	Mary Peters
33rd United States Secretary of Commerce
In office July 21, 2000 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	William M. Daley
Succeeded by	Donald Evans
Ranking Member of the House Transportation Committee
In office January 3, 1995 – October 10, 1995
Preceded by	Bud Shuster
Succeeded by	Jim Oberstar
Chair of the House Transportation Committee
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Bob Roe
Succeeded by	Bud Shuster
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
In office January 3, 1975 – October 10, 1995
Preceded by	Robert Lagomarsino (redistricted)
Succeeded by	Tom Campbell
Constituency	13th district (1975–1993) 15th district (1993–1995)
59th Mayor of San Jose
In office January 9, 1971 – January 9, 1975
Preceded by	Ron James
Succeeded by	Janet Gray Hayes
Personal details
Born	(1931-11-12)November 12, 1931 San Jose, California, U.S.
Died	May 3, 2022(2022-05-03) (aged 90) Edgewater, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	May Hinoki ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 1986)​ Deni Brantner ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	4
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BS)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Unit	Army Military Intelligence Corps
Norman Mineta's voice Mineta, while serving in the House, speaks in support of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act Recorded October 23, 1991

Norman Yoshio Mineta^[1] (Japanese: 峯田 良雄, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the Cabinet of the United States for U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a Republican.

Mineta served as the mayor of San Jose from 1971 until 1975. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1995. Mineta served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the final months of Bill Clinton's presidency. He was the first person of East Asian descent to serve as a U.S. cabinet secretary and the first Asian American mayor of a major U.S. city.^[2][3]

As the United States Secretary of Transportation for President Bush, Mineta was the only Democratic cabinet secretary in the Bush administration. He oversaw the creation of the Transportation Security Administration in response to the September 11 attacks that had occurred early in his tenure. On June 23, 2006, Mineta announced his resignation after more than five years as Secretary of Transportation, effective July 7, 2006, making him the longest-serving Secretary of Transportation in the department's history. A month later, the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton announced that Mineta would join it as a partner. In 2010, it was announced that Mineta would join L&L Energy as vice chairman.

Mineta died on May 3, 2022, from a heart ailment in Edgewater, Maryland, at the age of 90.^[4]