Spencer Abraham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Spencer Abraham
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Official portrait, 2001
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| 10th United States Secretary of Energy | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – January 31, 2005 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Bill Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Bodman |
| United States Senator from Michigan |
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| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Donald Riegle |
| Succeeded by | Debbie Stabenow |
| Chair of the Michigan Republican Party | |
| In office 1983–1991 |
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| Preceded by | Melvin L. Larsen |
| Succeeded by | David J. Doyle |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Edward Spencer Abraham
June 12, 1952 East Lansing, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Jane Abraham |
| Education | Michigan State University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Awards | Lebanese National Order of the Cedar (Commander Class) |
Edward Spencer Abraham (born June 12, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the Secretary of Energy for the United States from 2001 to 2005. This was during the time George W. Bush was president. Before that, he was a United States Senator for Michigan from 1995 to 2001.
Spencer Abraham is a member of the Republican Party. He also helped start the Federalist Society. He also co-founded the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He is the last Republican to have been a U.S. senator from Michigan.
Contents
Spencer Abraham's Early Life and Education
Spencer Abraham was born in East Lansing, Michigan. His mother, Juliette Elizabeth Sear, was involved in Michigan politics. His father was Eddie Joseph Abraham. He went to East Lansing High School.
Family Background and Heritage
Spencer Abraham's family comes from Lebanon. He is married to Jane Abraham. They have three children together.
College and Law School Education
He graduated from Michigan State University in 1974. He was part of the Honors College there. Later, he earned a law degree (called a Juris Doctor) from Harvard University. While at Harvard Law School in 1978, he helped create the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. This journal later became linked with the Federalist Society, which started in 1982.
Spencer Abraham's Political Career
Before becoming a senator, Spencer Abraham was a law professor. He taught at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Serving the Republican Party
Spencer Abraham was chosen as the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. He held this role from 1983 to 1990. From 1990 to 1991, he worked for Vice President Dan Quayle. He was the deputy chief of staff. Later, he was a co-chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1991 to 1993. In 1993, he ran to become the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He came in second place.
Time as a United States Senator
Spencer Abraham was elected to represent Michigan in the United States Senate in 1994. He served one term, until 2001. He lost his reelection bid in 2000 to Debbie Stabenow. He was the only Lebanese American serving in the Senate at that time.
During his campaign, some groups ran ads that criticized his views on certain rules. These ads were seen as very harsh by many. Spencer Abraham worked to prevent cuts to legal immigration in 1996. He also voted to remove President Bill Clinton from office during his impeachment trial in 1999. The next year, he received an award for his work on immigration.
Key Work in the Senate
As a senator, Spencer Abraham was part of several important committees. These included the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. He also led two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration.
He helped write several important laws. These included the H1B Visa in Global and National Commerce Act. This law set up rules for online contracts and signatures. He also wrote the Government Paperwork Elimination Act. Another important law he created was the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. This law protects Internet domain names from being used unfairly. In 1999, he supported a bill to close the U.S. Department of Energy. This would have given control of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the Defense Department.
Serving as U.S. Energy Secretary
In 2001, President George W. Bush chose Spencer Abraham to be the United States Secretary of Energy. He held this important position until February 1, 2005. He announced his resignation on November 15, 2004. His successor was Samuel W. Bodman.
In 2004, the Lebanese Ambassador gave Spencer Abraham a special award. It was called the National Order of the Cedar.
Spencer Abraham's Later Career
After leaving his government role, Spencer Abraham became a Distinguished Visiting Fellow. This was at the Hoover Institution, a research center at Stanford University. He worked there from 2005 to 2007. He also started his own company, The Abraham Group. It is a consulting firm in Washington D.C. He is the chairman and CEO.
Involvement in Presidential Campaigns
On July 24, 2007, Spencer Abraham was named an "ambassador" for Fred Thompson's 2008 presidential campaign. He helped connect the campaign with officials in Washington.
Work in the Energy Sector
In 2006, Spencer Abraham was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of AREVA Inc. This is the American branch of a French nuclear energy company called Areva. This company plans to build nuclear power plants in the United States. They are also building a plant to turn plutonium from weapons into fuel for power stations.
Spencer Abraham also co-wrote a book with William Tucker. It is called Lights Out!: Ten Myths About (and Real Solutions to) America's Energy Crisis. The book was published in 2010.
In 2016, Spencer Abraham was elected to the board of trustees for the California Institute of Technology.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2001
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Spencer Abraham working as the Secretary of Energy near Yucca Mountain
See also
- List of Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans in the United States Congress
