Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Agency name	United StatesDepartment of the Interior
Agency type	Department
Seal	US-DeptOfTheInterior-Seal.svg
Seal width	140px
Seal caption	Seal
Date1	March 8, 1849
Date1 name	Activated
Headquarters	Main Interior Building1849 C Street NWWashington, D.C.
Latns	N
Coordinates	38°53′37.11″N77°2′33.33″N
Longew	W
Employees	71,436 (2004)
Budget	$20 billion (2010)
Chief1 name	Ken Salazar
Chief1 position	Secretary
Chief2 name	David J. Hayes
Chief2 position	Deputy Secretary
Website	doi.gov

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and to insular areas of the United States.

The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Interior, who is a member of the Cabinet of the President. The current Secretary is Ken Salazar of Colorado.

Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different role from that of the interior ministries of other nations, which are usually responsible for functions performed in the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security primarily and the Department of Justice secondarily.

The Department has often been humorously called "The Department of Everything Else", because of its broad range of responsibilities.

History

A department for domestic concern was first considered by the 1st United States Congress in 1789, but those duties were placed in the Department of State. The idea of a separate domestic department continued to percolate for a half-century and was supported by Presidents from James Madison to James Polk. The 1846-48 Mexican-American War gave the proposal new steam as the responsibilities of the federal government grew. Polk's Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker, became a vocal champion of creating the new department.

In 1849, Walker stated in his annual report that several federal offices were placed in departments which they had little to do with. He noted that the General Land Office had little to do with the Treasury and also highlighted the Indian Affairs office, part of the Department of War, and the Patent Office, part of the Department of State. Walker argued that these and other bureaus should be brought together in a new Department of the Interior.

A bill authorizing its creation of the Department passed the House of Representatives on February 15, 1849, and spent just over two weeks in the Senate. The Department was established on March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395), the eve of President Zachary Taylor's inauguration, when the Senate voted 31 to 25 to create the Department. Its passage was delayed by Democrats in Congress who were reluctant to create more patronage posts for the incoming Whig administration to fill. The first Secretary of the Interior was Thomas Ewing.

Many of the domestic concerns the Department originally dealt with were gradually transferred to other Departments. Other agencies became separate Departments, such as the Bureau of Agriculture, which later became the Department of Agriculture. However, land and natural resource management, Native American affairs, wildlife conservation, and territorial affairs remain the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior.

As of mid-2004, the Department managed 507 million acres (2,050,000 km²) of surface land, or about one-fifth of the land in the United States. It manages 476 dams and 348 reservoirs through the Bureau of Reclamation, 388 national parks, monuments, seashore sites, etc. through the National Park Service, and 544 national wildlife refuges through the Fish and Wildlife Service. Energy projects on federally managed lands and offshore areas supply about 28% of the nation's energy production.

Native Americans

Within the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs handles some federal relations with Native Americans, while others are handled by the Office of Special Trustee. The current Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs is Larry EchoHawk. The Department has been the subject of disputes over proper accounting for Indian Trusts set up to track the income and pay-out of monies that are generated by trust and restricted Native American lands. Currently there are several cases that seek accountings of such funds from the Departments of Interior and Treasury.

Operating units

of the U.S. Department of the Interior.]]

Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget

*Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Management (DAS-LESEM)

**Office of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Management (OLESEM)

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement

Bureau of Reclamation

Federal Executive Boards

Interior Museum

National Park Service

Office of Insular Affairs

Office of Surface Mining

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

United States Geological Survey

Controversy

Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall was implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal of 1921. He was convicted of bribery in 1929, and served one year in prison, for his part in the controversy. A major factor in the scandal was a transfer of certain oil leases from the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy to that of the Department of the Interior, at Fall's behest.

Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt — already facing criticism related to his alleged hostility to environmentalism and his support of the development and use of federal lands by foresting, ranching, and other commercial interests, and for banning The Beach Boys from playing a 1983 Independence Day concert on the National Mall out of concerns of attracting "an undesirable element" — resigned abruptly after a September 21, 1983, speech in which he said about his staff: "I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent." Within weeks of making this statement, Watt submitted his resignation letter.

Under the Administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, the Interior Department's maintenance backlog climbed from $5 billion to $8.7 billion, despite Bush's campaign pledges to eliminate it completely. Of the agency under Bush's leadership, Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney has cited a "culture of fear" and of "ethical failure." Devaney has also said, "Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of Interior."

Gale Norton, Interior Secretary under George W. Bush from 2001–2006, resigned due to connections with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Julie A. MacDonald, deputy assistant secretary at the Interior Department appointed by Norton in 2002, also resigned after an internal review found that she had violated federal rules by giving government documents to lobbyists for industry. On July 20, 2007, MacDonald's "inappropriate influence" led H. Dale Hall, director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to order a review of eight endangered species decisions in which the former deputy assistant secretary was involved. Hall has called MacDonald's disputed decisions "a blemish on the scientific integrity of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior." On 17 September 2008, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to more than triple the habitat of the California red-legged frog, citing political manipulation by Julie MacDonald. In a government report released in December 2008, Inspector General Devaney called MacDonald's management "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive," and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who commissioned the report, attributed the "untold waste of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars" to MacDonald's actions.

On September 10, 2008, Inspector General Devaney found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, then known as the Minerals Management Service. In a cover memo, Devaney wrote “A culture of ethical failure” pervades the agency. According to the report, eight officials accepted gifts from energy companies whose value exceeded limits set by ethics rules — including golf, ski, and paintball outings; meals; drinks; and tickets to a Toby Keith concert, a Houston Texans football game, and a Colorado Rockies baseball game. The investigation also concluded that several of the officials “frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives.” According to the New York Times, "The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration’s watch."

George W. Bush administration Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne was also criticized by environmental groups for not placing any plants or animals on the federal endangered species list between September 2007 and his confirmation on May 26, 2006. As of that date, Kempthorne held the record for protecting fewer species over his tenure than any Interior Secretary in United States history, a record previously held by James G. Watt for over 20 years.

On December 16, 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Interior Department under Kempthorne for introducing "regulations...that would eviscerate our nation’s most successful wildlife law by exempting thousands of federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species Act." According to the CBD, Kempthorne's regulations violated the Endagered Species Act, "did not go through the required public review process" and "were rushed by the Bush administration through an abbreviated process" with "environmental impacts were analyzed in a short and cursory environmental assessment, rather than a fuller environmental impact statement."

References

Further reading

Crimes Against Nature by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (2004)

Utley, Robert M. and Barry Mackintosh; The Department of Everything Else, Highlights of Interior History; Dept of the Interior, Washington, D.C.; 1989

External links

United States Department of the Interior Official Website

The Department of Everything Else: Highlights of Interior History

Indian Trust: Cobell V. Kempthorne

Department Of The Interior Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed

Sex, Drug Use and Graft cited in Interior Department New York Times, September 10, 2008

Center for Biological Diversity v Dept of the Interior April 17, 2009 DC Appellate Decision stopping offshore Alaska Oil Leases.

Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the United States Department of the Interior

Category:1849 establishments

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Ken Salazar
Office	50th United States Secretary of the Interior
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	David Hayes
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	Dirk Kempthorne
Jr/sr2	United States Senator
State2	Colorado
Term start2	January 3, 2005
Term end2	January 20, 2009
Predecessor2	Ben Campbell
Successor2	Michael Bennet
Office3	36th Attorney General of Colorado
Governor3	Bill Owens
Term start3	January 12, 1999
Term end3	January 3, 2005
Predecessor3	Gale Norton
Successor3	John Suthers
Birth date	March 02, 1955
Birth place	Alamosa, Colorado, United States
Party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Hope Salazar
Residence	Denver
Alma mater	Colorado CollegeUniversity of Michigan
Profession	Lawyer
Signature	Ken Salazar Signature.svg
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar (; born March 2, 1955) is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in January 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.

On December 17, 2008, President-elect Obama announced he would nominate Salazar as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The environmentalist movement's reaction to this nomination was mixed. Previously, Salazar supported the nomination of Gale Norton to Secretary of the Interior, President George W. Bush's first appointee who preceded Salazar as Colorado Attorney General. On January 20, 2009, Salazar was confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate.

Early life and family

Ken Salazar was born in Alamosa, Colorado, the son of Emma M. and Henry (Enrique) S. Salazar. He grew up near Manassa, in the community of Los Rincones in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado. Salazar attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in La Jara, graduating in 1973. He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Later Salazar was awarded honorary degrees (Doctor of Laws) from Colorado College (1993) and the University of Denver (1999). After graduating, Salazar started private law practice.

Salazar has ancestors in the Southwestern United States dating back from the 1500s, when that region was part of New Spain. He has identified as Mexican American and said: "I've been taunted, called names -- from dirty Mexican to lots of other names -- as I was growing up, and even now as a United States senator."

State Cabinet member

In 1986, Salazar became chief legal counsel to then Governor Roy Romer; in 1990, Romer appointed him to his Cabinet as Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. In this position, he authored the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment, which created a massive land conservation program of which he became chairman. Salazar also created the Youth in Natural Resources program to provide for environmental education in public schools. In his cabinet role, he established reforms that forced mining and petroleum operations to better protect the surrounding environment.

Colorado Attorney General

In 1994, Salazar returned to private practice. In 1998, he was elected state attorney general; he was reelected to this position in 2002. Police operations were streamlined under Salazar, and several new branches of law enforcement were created: the Gang Prosecution Unit, the Environmental Crimes Unit, and the General Fugitive Prosecutive Unit, which targeted murderers. He also worked to strengthen consumer protection and anti-fraud laws, as well as to protect children through new policy designed to crack down on sex offenders.

In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported fellow Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in his primary race against Ned Lamont in Connecticut. Lamont, running primarily as an anti-war candidate, won the primary. Salazar's continued support of Lieberman, who successfully ran as an independent against Lamont, has rankled the anti-war wing of the Democratic Party.

In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast.

In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects.

According to Project Vote Smart, Ken Salazar received a 25 percent vote rating for 2007 by the Humane Society of the United States, a zero percent vote rating for 2005-2006 by Fund for Animals, a 60 percent vote rating for 2007 by Defenders of Wildlife, and a zero percent vote rating on the Animal Welfare Institute Compassion Index. He also supported the Bush Administration's release of lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for emergency haying in Colorado's Yuma and Phillips Counties. Salazar has an 81 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, including a 100 percent rating for the year 2008.

Salazar resigned his Senate seat on January 20, 2009, upon his confirmation by the Senate to become Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama.

Electoral history

Secretary of the Interior

, commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar make their way to the crown of the Statue of Liberty in May 2009.]] Salazar accepted Obama's offer to join his cabinet as the Secretary of the Interior. His appointment required a Saxbe fix by Congress. On January 7, 2009, Congress approved a bill, , and President George W. Bush signed it into law, providing such a fix by reducing the Secretary of Interior's salary to the level it was prior to the time Salazar took office in January 2009.

The Senate confirmed Salazar's nomination by voice vote on January 20, 2009, shortly after Obama was sworn in as President. As Secretary of the Interior, Salazar is in charge of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other federal agencies overseen by the Interior Department.

Salazar is one of two Hispanics currently serving in Obama's Cabinet, along with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis of California. Salazar is the second Hispanic Interior Secretary after Manuel Lujan, Jr., who held the post from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush.

Several prominent environmentalist groups are wary of Salazar, noting his strong ties with the coal and mining industries. Kieran Suckling, executive director of Center for Biological Diversity, which tracks endangered species and habitat issues states "He [Ken Salazar] is a right-of-center Democrat who often favors industry and big agriculture in battles over global warming, fuel efficiency and endangered species."

The nomination was praised, however, by Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters. Upon the nomination, Karpinski said, "Throughout his career, Senator Salazar has campaigned on a pledge of support for 'our land, our water, our people.' With a perfect 100% score on the 2008 LCV Scorecard, he has lived up to that pledge. As a westerner, Senator Salazar has hands on experience with land and water issues, and will restore the Department of the Interior's role as the steward of America's public resources. We look forward to working with him to protect the health of America's land, water, and people in the coming years."

Although Senate Republicans were expected to raise questions concerning Salazar's stances on oil shale development and drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, Salazar was one of several Obama Cabinet appointees confirmed in the Senate by voice vote on January 20, 2009, shortly after Obama's inauguration. Salazar became the 50th Secretary of the Interior succeeding Dirk Kempthorne, who praised Salazar's appointment.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter appointed Denver Superintendent of Schools Michael Bennet to replace Salazar and to finish his term in the Senate, which expired in January 2011.

On January 23, 2009, Salazar stated that he is considering reopening the Statue of Liberty's crown to tourists. The crown has been closed to the public since the September 11, 2001 attacks. "I hope we can find a way," Salazar said in a statement. "It would proclaim to the world — both figuratively and literally — that the path to the light of liberty is open to all."

On March 6, 2009 Salazar agreed to move forward with the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove the Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species List in Montana and Idaho, but not Wyoming. Minimum recovery goal for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains is at least 30 breeding pairs and at least 300 wolves for at least three consecutive years, a goal that was attained in 2002 and has been exceeded every year since. (There are currently about 95 breeding pairs and 1,600 wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.) Salazar, a former rancher has come under criticism of groups like the Defenders of Wildlife for this decision, and lack of protection of wolves.

On May 9, 2009, Salazar announced the upholding of a Bush-era policy that prevents the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions via the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a policy he pledged to reevaluate when he took office in January. The policy states that, despite the apparent negative impact global warming has on polar bears, an endangered species, greenhouse gasses cannot be regulated with the ESA. Salazar stated in a conference call announcing the decision that "The single greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of Arctic Sea ice due to climate change," but the Endangered Species Act "is not the appropriate tool for us to deal with what is a global issue." The decision was met with criticism from environmental groups and praise from energy groups including the American Petroleum Institute, some Democrats and many Republicans. Salazar contended in the same conference call that the ESA was never intended to be used for the regulation of climate change, while sidestepping questions of how this situation is different from that of the Clean Air Act, which is currently being used by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate emissions.

With the announcement in early January 2010 that Governor Ritter will not seek reelection, Salazar is thought to be considering entering the 2010 gubernatorial contest in his home state. Representative John Salazar, the secretary's brother, told local media that he thought Salazar was likely to seek the governor's mansion. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper indicated that while he was considering a run himself, he would defer to Secretary Salazar if the former senator opts to enter the race. John Salazar is encouraging his brother to run for governor, according to The Pueblo Chieftain, and the White House has indicated that it would have no objection to Salazar resigning his administration post to pursue the governorship, according to The Denver Post, though it cited no named sources in its initial reporting. According to later reports, however, Salazar has decided not to run for governor in favor of continuing as Secretary of the Interior. He endorsed Hickenlooper's bid on January 7, 2010.

On 28 April 2010, Ken Salazar approved the Cape Wind offshore wind farm.

He has dealt with criticism after pushing to impose tougher leasing rules and cancel a series of planned drilling operations in Alaska and elsewhere. Salazar has dealt with criticism over his handling of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, both because of the way his agency handled the permitting process for underwater drilling, and also because of the way the aftermath of the spill has been handled by the government.

References

External links

Biography at the United States Department of the Interior

Profile at SourceWatch

|- |- |- |- |-

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:American politicians of Mexican descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Colorado Attorneys General Category:Colorado College alumni Category:Colorado Democrats Category:Colorado lawyers Category:Democratic Party United States Senators Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in the United States Congress Category:Obama Administration cabinet members Category:People from Alamosa County, Colorado Category:State cabinet secretaries of Colorado Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni Category:United States Secretaries of the Interior Category:United States Senators from Colorado

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Barack Obama
Alt	A portrait shot of a serious looking middle-aged African-American male (Barack Obama) looking straight ahead. He has short black hair, and is wearing a dark navy blazer with a blue striped tie over a light blue collared shirt. In the background are two flags hanging from separate flagpoles: an American flag, and one from the Executive Office of the President.
Order	44th
Office	President of the United States
Vicepresident	Joe Biden
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	George W. Bush
Jr/sr2	United States Senator
State2	Illinois
Term start2	January 3, 2005
Term end2	November 16, 2008
Predecessor2	Peter Fitzgerald
Successor2	Roland Burris
Office3	Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th District
Term start3	January 8, 1997
Term end3	November 4, 2004
Predecessor3	Alice Palmer
Successor3	Kwame Raoul
Birth name	Barack Hussein Obama II
Birth date	August 04, 1961
Birth place	Honolulu, Hawaii
Filename	President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden.ogv
Title	President Obama on Osama bin Laden's Death
Description	President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011.
Filename2	050111 Osama Bin Laden Death Statement audioonly.ogg
Title2	President Obama on Osama bin Laden's Death
Description2	audio only version

Osama bin Laden

to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune Spear.]]

Starting with information received in July 2010, intelligence developed by the CIA over the next several months determined what they believed to be the location of Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles from Islamabad. CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to President Obama in March 2011. Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing, and buried at sea several hours later. Within minutes of the President's announcement from Washington, DC, late in the evening on May 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City's Ground Zero and Times Square. Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and from many countries around the world.

2010 midterm election

Obama called the November 2, 2010 election, where the Democratic Party lost 63 seats in, and control of, the House of Representatives, "humbling" and a "shellacking". He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.

Cultural and political image

invited then-President-elect Barack Obama and former Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter to a meeting in the Oval Office on January 7, 2009.]] Obama's family history, early life and upbringing, and Ivy League education differ markedly from those of African-American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement. Obama is also not a descendant of American slaves. Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong." Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech, saying: "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."

Obama is frequently referred to as an exceptional orator. as President of the United States on January 24, 2009, discussing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.]]

According to the Gallup Organization, Obama began his presidency with a 68% approval rating before gradually declining for the rest of the year, and eventually bottoming out at 41% in August 2010, a trend similar to Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's first years in office. He experienced a small poll bounce shortly after the death of Osama bin Laden, which lasted until around June 2011, when his approval numbers dropped back to where they were prior to the operation. Polls show strong support for Obama in other countries, and before being elected President he has met with prominent foreign figures including then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italy's Democratic Party leader and then Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

According to a May 2009 poll conducted by Harris Interactive for France 24 and the International Herald Tribune, Obama was rated as the most popular world leader, as well as the one figure most people would pin their hopes on for pulling the world out of the economic downturn.

Obama won Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Awards for abridged audiobook versions of Dreams from My Father in February 2006 and for The Audacity of Hope in February 2008. His concession speech after the New Hampshire primary was set to music by independent artists as the music video "Yes We Can", which was viewed by 10 million people on YouTube in its first month and received a Daytime Emmy Award. In December 2008, Time magazine named Barack Obama as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments".

On October 9, 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". Obama accepted this award in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2009, with "deep gratitude and great humility." The award drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures. Obama is the fourth U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the third to become a Nobel laureate while in office.

A 2010 Siena College poll of 238 Presidential scholars found that Obama was ranked 15th out of 43, with high ratings for imagination, communication ability and intelligence and a low rating for background (family, education and experience).

Family and personal life

, as they wave from the South Portico of the White House to guests attending the White House Easter Egg Roll.]]

In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "It's like a little mini-United Nations", he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." Obama has seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family – six of them living – and a half-sister with whom he was raised, Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband. Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham, until her death on November 2, 2008, two days before his election to the Presidency. In Dreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Obama's great-uncle served in the 89th Division that overran Ohrdruf, the first of the Nazi concentration camps to be liberated by U.S. troops during World War II.

Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years. Besides his native English, Obama speaks Indonesian at the conversational level, which he learned during his four childhood years in Jakarta.

, Djibouti in 2006]]

jersey from Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who campaigned for Obama in 2008 In 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the all star game while wearing a White Sox jacket. He is also primarily a Chicago Bears fan in the NFL, but in his childhood and adolesence was a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and recently rooted for them ahead of their victory in Super Bowl XLIII 12 days after Obama took office as President.

In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial requests to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on July 4, 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), on June 10, 2001. The Obama daughters attended the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at the private Sidwell Friends School. The Obamas have a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.

Applying the proceeds of a book deal, the family moved in 2005 from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood, Chicago. The purchase of an adjacent lot and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friend Tony Rezko attracted media attention because of Rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama. Their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5 million—up from about $4.2 million in 2007 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.

Obama tried to quit smoking several times, sometimes using nicotine replacement therapy. Michelle Obama said he successfully quit in early 2010.

Religious views

As he described in The Audacity of Hope, Obama is a Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote that he "was not raised in a religious household". He described his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as "non-practicing Methodists and Baptists"), to be detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known". He described his father as "raised a Muslim", but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful". Obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change".

Obama was baptized at the Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988 and was an active member there for two decades. After a prolonged effort to find a church to attend regularly in Washington, Obama announced in June 2009 that his primary place of worship would be the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David.

Notes

}}

References

Further reading

Curry, Jessica. "Barack Obama: Under the Lights", Chicago Life, Fall 2004. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

Graff, Garrett. "The Legend of Barack Obama", Washingtonian, November 1, 2006. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

Koltun, Dave (2005) "The 2004 Illinois Senate Race: Obama Wins Open Seat and Becomes National Political "Star"" in "The Road to Congress 2004" Editors: Sunil Ahuja (Youngstown State University) and Robert Dewhirst (Truman State University), Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, New York, Binding: Hardcover Pub. Date: 2005, ISBN 1-59454-360-7

Lizza, Ryan. "Above the Fray", GQ, September 2007. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.

MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", New Yorker, May 7, 2007. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

McClelland, Edward, Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President, Bloomsbury Press, 2010.

Zutter, Hank De. "What Makes Obama Run?", Chicago Reader, December 8, 1995. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

External links

;Official

President Barack Obama White House official website

* Full transcript and video of President Obama's inaugural address (from whitehouse.gov)

BarackObama.com (official website)

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Dirk Kempthorne
Order	49th
Title	United States Secretary of the Interior
Term start	June 7, 2006
Term end	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	Gale Norton
Successor	Ken Salazar
President	George W. Bush
Order2	30th
Office2	Governor of Idaho
Term start2	January 8, 1999
Term end2	May 26, 2006
Lieutenant2	Butch Otter (1999-2001)Jack Riggs (2001-2003)Jim Risch (2003-2006)
Predecessor2	Phil Batt
Successor2	Jim Risch
Title3	United States Senator from Idaho
Term start3	January 3, 1993
Term end3	January 3, 1999
Predecessor3	Steve Symms
Successor3	Mike Crapo
Office4	Mayor of Boise, Idaho
Term start4	1986
Term end4	1993
Predecessor4	Richard Eardley
Successor4	H. Brent Coles
Birth date	October 29, 1951
Birth place	San Diego, California
Spouse	Patricia Kempthorne
Children	Heather KempthorneJeff Kempthorne
Alma mater	San Bernardino Valley CollegeUniversity of Idaho
Profession	United States Cabinet
Residence	Boise
Party	Republican
Religion	Methodist

Dirk Arthur Kempthorne (born October 29, 1951), was the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, who served under President George W. Bush from 2006 to 2009. A Republican, Kempthorne previously served as the 30th Governor and as a U.S. Senator from Idaho. He is reportedly exploring a bid for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2012.

Kempthorne was first elected to public office as mayor of Boise in 1985, where he served for seven years. According to The New York Times, over the course of his career in public service, Kempthorne established a reputation as "a personable leader with a strong understanding of issues."

Kempthorne is notable for his conservative views, particularly on economic issues.

Kempthorne serves as a co-chair of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Early life, education, and early career

Kempthorne was raised in San Bernardino, California. Kempthorne attended and graduated from San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino. He attended San Bernardino Valley College, then transferred to the University of Idaho, where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in political science, and served a term as student body president. Upon graduation Kempthorne served as an assistant to the director of the Idaho Department of Lands and then as executive vice president of the Idaho Home Builders Association.

In 1982, Kempthorne managed the gubernatorial campaign for Lt. Gov. Phil Batt, who lost to the incumbent Democrat, Governor John V. Evans. In 1983 Kempthorne became state public affairs manager for FMC Corporation.

Kempthorne and his wife, Patricia Kempthorne, also a UI graduate, have two adult children, Heather and Jeff.

Kempthorne is of Cornish ancestry.

Political career

Mayor

Kempthorne's first major political victory was in 1985 when he was elected mayor of Boise. As mayor Kempthorne became very popular and was unopposed for reelection in 1989.

U.S. Senate

In 1992, U.S. Senator Steve Symms decided not to seek a third term and Kempthorne pursued the Republican nomination for the seat. In the general election, Kempthorne defeated Democratic Congressman Richard H. Stallings. In the Senate, Kempthorne sponsored and helped pass a bill meant to prohibit Congress from imposing unfunded federal mandates on states.

During his six years in the Senate, Kempthorne scored a "0" on the League of Conservation Voters' legislative scorecards every year except 1993, when he scored 6 percent on the basis of one vote against funding a rocket booster for the space program that environmentalists judged harmful to the environment. His overall LCV score for that period was less than 1%.

Kempthorne was expected to run for reelection in 1998, but instead decided to run for the open seat for governor. The incumbent, Phil Batt, elected in 1994, shocked the state by announcing his retirement after only one term in office. Kempthorne's Senate seat would be won by Republican Mike Crapo.

Governor

Kempthorne won the gubernatorial election in a landslide, receiving 68 percent of the vote while his Democratic opponent, Robert C. Huntley, received only 29 percent. He was reelected in 2002 with 56 percent of the vote, compared to his Democratic opponent, Jerry Brady, who polled 42 percent. Kempthorne's campaign spent nearly $200,000 more than it had received in contributions prior to the election; he spent the next two years raising funds to pay off the campaign debt.

Secretary of the Interior

on June 7, 2006.]]

On March 16, 2006, Kempthorne was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Gale Norton as the 49th Secretary of the Interior. On May 10, 2006, Kempthorne's nomination was approved by voice vote by the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He was confirmed by the full Senate on May 26, and resigned as governor to accept the position the same day. Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch succeeded Kempthorne as governor, filling out remaining months of the term. Kempthorne is the second Idahoan to hold the Cabinet post. Former Governor Cecil Andrus was the Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1977 to 1981.

Upon Kempthorne's appointment as Secretary of the Interior, environmental groups characterized him as someone who has "almost always favored changing laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to make them more favorable to commercial interests."

In December 2007, as a result of a long-term investigation and resignation of former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald, Inspector General Earl Devaney found "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive" management at the department under Kempthorne's supervision. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, attributed the "untold waste of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars" to MacDonald's actions. Of the department, Representative Nick J. Rahall II, chairman of the House Natural Resources said "The results of this investigation paint a picture of something akin to a secret society residing within the Interior Department that was colluding to undermine the protection of endangered wildlife and covering for one another’s misdeeds.”

In September 2008, Devaney reported wrongdoing by current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, an agency under Kempthorne's administration that collects about $10 billion in oil and gas royalties annually, and one of the government’s largest sources of revenue other than taxes. According to the New York Times, "Eight officials in the royalty program accepted gifts from energy companies whose value exceeded limits set by ethics rules—including golf, ski and paintball outings; meals and drinks; and tickets to a Toby Keith concert, a Houston Texans football game and a Colorado Rockies baseball game.... The investigation also concluded that several of the officials "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives." The New York Times reports a whistle blower officially complained about the wrongdoings in the spring of 2006, prior to Kempthorne's being sworn into the office.

On December 16, 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity announced intent to sue the Interior Department under Kempthorne for introducing "regulations... that would eviscerate our nation’s most successful wildlife law by exempting thousands of federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species Act." The lawsuit, which is critical of policy advocated by Kempthorne and President George W. Bush, was filed in the Northern District of California by the CBD, Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife. According to the CBD, "The lawsuit argues that the regulations violate the Endangered Species Act and did not go through the required public review process. The regulations, first proposed on August 11th, were rushed by the Bush administration through an abbreviated process in which more than 300,000 comments from the public were reviewed in 2-3 weeks, and environmental impacts were analyzed in a short and cursory environmental assessment, rather than a fuller environmental impact statement."

In 2009, CNN correspondent Campbell Brown criticized Kempthorne for using "$235,000 of your money to renovate his office bathroom at the Department of Interior." According to Brown, the costs included a shower, a refrigerator, and a freezer hidden behind lavish wood paneling, as well as "DK" monogrammed towels. Donald Swain, Chief of the Interior Department's National Business Center said the towels do not exist. He further says the project came in $10,000 under budget and was approved by the General Services Administration.

See also

Wise Use Movement

Notes

External links

Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:People from San Diego, California Category:American Methodists Category:American people of Cornish descent Category:Idaho Republicans Category:United States Secretaries of the Interior Category:Governors of Idaho Category:United States Senators from Idaho Category:Mayors of Boise, Idaho Category:University of Idaho alumni Category:People from San Bernardino, California Category:People from Boise, Idaho Category:George W. Bush Administration cabinet members Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States Category:Republican Party United States Senators