United States Secretary of the Interior facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of the Interior
Flag of the secretary
Seal of the Department of the Interior
Incumbent Doug Burgum since February 1, 2025
United States Department of the Interior
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	43 U.S.C. § 1451
Formation	March 3, 1849; 176 years ago (1849-03-03)
First holder	Thomas Ewing
Succession	Eighth
Deputy	United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I

The United States Secretary of the Interior is a very important person in the United States government. This person leads the United States Department of the Interior. Think of them as the main manager for most of America's public lands and natural treasures.

The Secretary and their department work to protect and manage many things. This includes national parks, wildlife refuges, and other federal lands. They also look after natural resources like water, minerals, and energy. They lead important groups such as the National Park Service, which takes care of places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. They also oversee the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Secretary of the Interior is part of the United States Cabinet. This means they are a top advisor to the President of the United States. Their job is different from an "interior minister" in other countries. In the U.S., it's mostly about land and nature.

Because much of the land they manage is in the western part of the U.S., many Secretaries of the Interior have come from western states. This helps them understand the unique needs of those areas.

The current Secretary of the Interior is Doug Burgum. He started his job on February 1, 2025. This position is a high-level job in the government. As of January 2024, the salary for this role is US$246,400 per year.

Meet the Secretaries of the Interior

This table shows all the people who have served as the Secretary of the Interior. You can see when they started and left their job. You can also see which president they worked for. The colors show which political party they belonged to.

Whig (3)       Democratic (17)       Republican (34)      Denotes acting Secretary of the Interior Number Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s) 1 Thomas Ewing Ohio March 8, 1849 July 22, 1850 Taylor, ZacharyZachary Taylor (1849–1850) Fillmore, MillardMillard Fillmore (1850–1853) 2 McKennan, ThomasThomas McKennan Pennsylvania August 15, 1850 August 26, 1850 3 Stuart, AlexanderAlexander Stuart Virginia September 14, 1850 March 7, 1853 4 McClelland, RobertRobert McClelland Michigan March 8, 1853 March 9, 1857 Pierce, FranklinFranklin Pierce (1853–1857) 5 Thompson, JacobJacob Thompson Mississippi March 10, 1857 January 8, 1861 Buchanan, JamesJames Buchanan (1857–1861) 6 Smith, CalebCaleb Smith Indiana March 5, 1861 December 31, 1862 Lincoln, AbrahamAbraham Lincoln (1861–1865) 7 Usher, JohnJohn Usher Indiana January 1, 1863 May 15, 1865 Johnson, AndrewAndrew Johnson (1865–1869) 8 Harlan, JamesJames Harlan Iowa May 16, 1865 August 31, 1866 9 Browning, OrvilleOrville Browning Illinois September 1, 1866 March 4, 1869 10 Cox, JacobJacob Cox Ohio March 5, 1869 October 31, 1870 Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) 11 Delano, ColumbusColumbus Delano Ohio November 1, 1870 September 30, 1875 12 Chandler, ZachariahZachariah Chandler Michigan October 19, 1875 March 11, 1877 13 Schurz, CarlCarl Schurz Missouri March 12, 1877 March 7, 1881 Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes (1887–1881) 14 Kirkwood, Samuel J.Samuel J. Kirkwood Iowa March 8, 1881 April 17, 1882 Garfield, James A.James A. Garfield (1881) Arthur, Chester A.Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885) 15 Teller, Henry M.Henry M. Teller Colorado April 18, 1882 March 3, 1885 16 Lamar, LuciusLucius Lamar Mississippi March 6, 1885 January 10, 1888 Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland (1885–1889) 17 Vilas, WilliamWilliam Vilas Wisconsin January 16, 1888 March 6, 1889 18 Noble, JohnJohn Noble Missouri March 7, 1889 March 6, 1893 Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison (1889–1893) 19 Smith, HokeHoke Smith Georgia March 6, 1893 September 1, 1896 Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland (1893–1897) 20 Francis, David R.David R. Francis Missouri September 3, 1896 March 5, 1897 21 Bliss, CorneliusCornelius Bliss New York March 6, 1897 February 19, 1899 McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley (1897–1901) 22 Hitchcock, EthanEthan Hitchcock Missouri February 20, 1899 March 4, 1907 Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) 23 Garfield, JamesJames Garfield Ohio March 5, 1907 March 4, 1909 24 Ballinger, Richard A.Richard A. Ballinger Washington March 6, 1909 March 12, 1911 Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft (1909–1913) 25 Fisher, Walter L.Walter L. Fisher Illinois March 13, 1911 March 5, 1913 26 Lane, FranklinFranklin Lane California March 6, 1913 February 29, 1920 Wilson, WoodrowWoodrow Wilson (1913–1921) – Vogelsang, AlexanderAlexander Vogelsang Acting California February 29, 1920 March 13, 1920 27 Payne, JohnJohn Payne Illinois March 15, 1920 March 4, 1921 28 Fall, Albert B.Albert B. Fall New Mexico March 5, 1921 March 4, 1923 Harding, Warren G.Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) 29 Work, HubertHubert Work Colorado March 5, 1923 July 24, 1928 Coolidge, CalvinCalvin Coolidge (1923–1929) 30 West, RoyRoy West Illinois July 25, 1928 March 4, 1929 31 Wilbur, Ray LymanRay Lyman Wilbur California March 5, 1929 March 4, 1933 Hoover, HerbertHerbert Hoover (1929–1933) 32 Ickes, Harold L.Harold L. Ickes Illinois March 4, 1933 February 15, 1946 Roosevelt, Franklin D.Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) Truman, Harry S.Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) – Chapman, Oscar L.Oscar L. Chapman Acting Colorado February 15, 1946 March 18, 1946 33 Krug, JuliusJulius Krug Wisconsin March 18, 1946 December 1, 1949 34 Chapman, Oscar L.Oscar L. Chapman Colorado December 1, 1949 January 20, 1953 35 McKay, DouglasDouglas McKay Oregon January 21, 1953 April 15, 1956 Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) – Davis, ClarenceClarence Davis Acting Nebraska April 15, 1956 June 8, 1956 36 Seaton, FredFred Seaton Nebraska June 8, 1956 January 20, 1961 37 Udall, StewartStewart Udall Arizona January 21, 1961 January 20, 1969 Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) 38 Hickel, WallyWally Hickel Alaska January 24, 1969 November 25, 1970 Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (1969–1974) – Russell, Fred J.Fred J. Russell Acting California November 25, 1970 January 29, 1971 39 Morton, RogersRogers Morton Maryland January 29, 1971 April 30, 1975 Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (1974–1977) – Frizzell, KentKent Frizzell Acting Kansas April 30, 1975 June 12, 1975 40 Hathaway, Stanley K.Stanley K. Hathaway Wyoming June 12, 1975 October 9, 1975 – Frizzell, KentKent Frizzell Acting Kansas October 9, 1975 October 17, 1975 41 Kleppe, Thomas S.Thomas S. Kleppe North Dakota October 17, 1975 January 20, 1977 – Albert, AlfredAlfred Albert Acting January 20, 1977 January 23, 1977 Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (1977–1981) 42 Andrus, Cecil D.Cecil D. Andrus Idaho January 23, 1977 January 20, 1981 43 Watt, James G.James G. Watt Colorado January 23, 1981 November 8, 1983 Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (1981–1989) – Simmons, J. J.J. J. Simmons Acting New Jersey November 8, 1983 November 18, 1983 44 Clark, William P.William P. Clark California November 18, 1983 February 7, 1985 45 Hodel, Donald P.Donald P. Hodel Virginia February 8, 1985 January 20, 1989 – Gjelde, EarlEarl Gjelde Acting Virginia January 20, 1989 February 3, 1989 Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) 46 Lujan Jr., ManuelManuel Lujan Jr. New Mexico February 3, 1989 January 20, 1993 47 Babbitt, BruceBruce Babbitt Arizona January 22, 1993 January 19, 2001 Clinton, BillBill Clinton (1993–2001) – Slonaker, ThomasThomas Slonaker Acting Arizona January 20, 2001 January 31, 2001 Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009) 48 Norton, GaleGale Norton Colorado January 31, 2001 March 31, 2006 – Scarlett, LynnLynn Scarlett Acting California April 1, 2006 May 26, 2006 49 Kempthorne, DirkDirk Kempthorne Idaho May 26, 2006 January 19, 2009 – Scarlett, LynnLynn Scarlett Acting California January 19, 2009 January 20, 2009 Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017) 50 Salazar, KenKen Salazar Colorado January 20, 2009 April 12, 2013 51 Jewell, SallySally Jewell Washington April 12, 2013 January 20, 2017 – Haugrud, KevinKevin Haugrud Acting January 20, 2017 March 1, 2017 Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021) 52 Zinke, RyanRyan Zinke Montana March 1, 2017 January 2, 2019 53 Bernhardt, DavidDavid Bernhardt Colorado January 2, 2019 April 11, 2019 April 11, 2019 January 20, 2021 – de la Vega, ScottScott de la Vega Acting New York January 20, 2021 March 16, 2021 Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025) 54 Haaland, DebDeb Haaland New Mexico March 16, 2021 January 20, 2025 – Cruickshank, WalterWalter Cruickshank Acting January 20, 2025 February 1, 2025 Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present) 55 Burgum, DougDoug Burgum North Dakota February 1, 2025 present

See also

In Spanish: Secretario del Interior de los Estados Unidos para niños