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Ronald H. Brown becomes the 30th Secretary of Commerce

Business America, Feb 8, 1993

Ronald H. Brown was sworn in as the 30th Secretary of Commerce at a White House ceremony Jan. 22, one day after his confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He succeeds Barbara Hackman Franklin.

Brown, 51, who served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee between 1989 until shortly before he assumed his new post, is a lawyer, formerly the Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He worked for 12 years at the National Urban League.

In announcing the appointment Dec.12, President Clinton said Brown will make the Commerce Department a "powerhouse ... With Ron Brown as Secretary of Commerce, American business will know that the Department of Commerce has a strong and independent leader and a forceful advocate. And our global competitors will know that we are ready to compete and win."

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"In my Administration," Clinton said, "the Department of Commerce will play a more visible and powerful role in rebuilding the economy. In my Administration, technology development and export promotion will be at the forefront of our job creation strategy. To create a high-wage, high-growth economy, American businesses must pull together. We must have the courage to change, take advantage of the array of new technologies that are transforming the marketplace and shifting the global economy. And government must help."

The President cited Brown's leadership, management, and negotiating skills and said he was "good at bringing people together."

At the news conference at which his appointment was announced, Brown said, "The mission is very simple. It's a mission that was articulated clearly during the course of the campaign, and that was that we had to get our economy back on track. We had to build the future for all of our people. We had to create high-paying jobs. We had to be on the cutting edge of new technology. We had to do better in the area of international trade and economic development, small business development. All of those things are what make me so excited about taking on the leadership in the Department of Commerce." See Brown's statement at his confirmation hearings, at right.

Brown will be a member of the new National Economic Council, modeled on the national Security Council, which will coordinate the economic policy-making process on domestic and international economic issues, together with economic policy advice to the President. See item on the National Economic Council in Trade Watch on the inside front cover.

Brown became a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Patton, Boggs, and Blow in 1981. He is a member of the New York Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. In 1979, he served as staff director in the office of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), after which he became the Chief Counsel for The Senate Judiciary Committee. Before that, he served for 12 years as Deputy Executive Director, General Counsel, and Vice President for the National Urban League's Washington operations.

Brown was born Aug. 1, 1941, in Washington, D.C., and was raised in Harlem, N.Y., where his father, William, managed Harlem's Theresa Hotel. With the help of a scholarship, he attended Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt.

Brown's first job after college was as a welfare caseworker for New York City. Newly married to Alma Arrington, he attended law school at night at St. John's University, where he became acquainted with law professor (now New York Governor) Mario Cuomo. Brown had a four-year stint with the U.S. Army in Germany and Korea.

Brown serves on the Board of Trustees for Middlebury College and is Chair of the Senior Advisory Committee at Harvard's John F. Kennedy Institute of Politics. He lives in Washington, D.C., where his wife, Alma, is a public affairs director for a local radio station. He has a son, Michael, 27, and a daughter, Tracey, 25, both lawyers.

Government Industry

Ronald H. Brown becomes the 30th Secretary of Commerce

Business America, Feb 8, 1993

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