Sonny Perdue

Sonny Perdue
Official portrait, 2017
14th Chancellor of the University System of Georgia
Assumed office
April 1, 2022
Preceded bySteve Wrigley
Teresa MacCartney (acting)
31st United States Secretary of Agriculture
In office
April 25, 2017 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyMike Young (acting)
Stephen Censky
Preceded byTom Vilsack
Succeeded byTom Vilsack
81st Governor of Georgia
In office
January 13, 2003 – January 10, 2011
LieutenantMark Taylor
Casey Cagle
Preceded byRoy Barnes
Succeeded byNathan Deal
Member of the Georgia State Senate
from the 18th district
In office
January 9, 1991 – January 9, 2002
Preceded byEd Barker
Succeeded byMichael J. Moore
Personal details
Born
George Ervin Perdue III

(1946-12-20) December 20, 1946 (age 77)
Perry, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (1998–present)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (before 1998)
Spouse
Mary Ruff
​
(m. 1972)​
Children
  • Leigh
  • Lara
  • Jim
  • Dan
Parents
  • George Ervin Perdue Jr.
  • Ophie Viola Holt
RelativesDavid Perdue (cousin)
EducationUniversity of Georgia (BS, DVM)
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Air Force
Years of service1971–1974
RankCaptain
Sonny Perdue's voice
Perdue thanking producers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Recorded March 23, 2020

George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III[1] (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021.[2] A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 81st governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011 and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1991 to 2002.

Founder and partner in an agricultural trading company,[3] Perdue was elected governor of Georgia in 2002, defeating incumbent Roy Barnes and becoming the first Republican to hold the office since the Reconstruction era.[4] He was reelected in 2006 with nearly 60% of the vote. He later served from 2012 to 2017 on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.[4][5]

On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017.[6] His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 19–1 voice vote on March 30.[7] His appointment was approved by an 87–11 vote by the Senate on April 24.[8] He became the second secretary of agriculture from the Deep South, after Mike Espy of Mississippi. Perdue served as Secretary of Agriculture throughout Trump's term.

On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022.[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Georgia Encyclopedia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "7 things to know about Sonny Perdue". National Hog Farmer. January 19, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Company Overview of Perdue Partners, LLC". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Former Georgia governor tapped as Trump's agriculture secretary, sources say". NBC News. January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "BPC Congratulates Sec. Sonny Perdue on Confirmation to Lead Dept. of Agriculture" (Press release). Washington, D.C. April 25, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Congressional Record for March 9, 2017
  7. ^ "Business Meeting Transcript" (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry.
  8. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 1st Session". Senate.gov. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  9. ^ "Sonny Perdue Named Chancellor of the University System of Georgia". University System of Georgia. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.