George B. Cortelyou

George Cortelyou
Cortelyou (c. 1905–1907)
44th United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office
March 4, 1907 – March 7, 1909
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byLeslie Shaw
Succeeded byFranklin MacVeagh
42nd United States Postmaster General
In office
March 6, 1905 – January 14, 1907
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byRobert Wynne
Succeeded byGeorge Meyer
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office
June 23, 1904 – January 7, 1907
Preceded byHenry Payne (Acting)
Succeeded byHarry New
1st United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor
In office
February 18, 1903 – June 30, 1904
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byVictor H. Metcalf
Secretary to the President
In office
May 1, 1900 – February 18, 1903
PresidentWilliam McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded byJohn Addison Porter
Succeeded byWilliam Loeb Jr.
Personal details
Born
George Bruce Cortelyou

(1862-07-26)July 26, 1862
New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 1940(1940-10-23) (aged 78)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseLilly Morris Hinds
EducationWestfield State University (BA)
Georgetown University (LLB)
George Washington University (LLM)

George Bruce Cortelyou (July 26, 1862 – October 23, 1940) was an American cabinet secretary of the early twentieth century. He served in various capacities in the presidential administrations of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Born in New York City, Cortelyou worked for the United States Post Office Department and came to the attention of Postmaster General Wilson S. Bissell. On Bissell's recommendation, President Cleveland hired Cortelyou as his chief clerk. On Cleveland's recommendation, McKinley hired Cortelyou as his personal secretary. After the assassination of William McKinley, Roosevelt asked Cortelyou to lead an effort to reorganize the White House.

Impressed with Cortelyou's performance, Roosevelt appointed him United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1903. He left this position in 1904 to become chairman of the Republican National Committee, and in 1905 he also served as Postmaster General. He left both positions to become the United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1907. In this position, he worked to keep the economy stable during the Panic of 1907. After Roosevelt left office in 1909, Cortelyou became president of the Consolidated Gas Company. He died in 1940.