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Spencer Abraham
10th United States Secretary of Energy
In office January 20, 2001 – February 1, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Bill Richardson
Succeeded by	Samuel Bodman
United States Senator  from Michigan
In office January 4, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Donald W. Riegle, Jr.
Succeeded by	Debbie Stabenow
Born	June 12, 1952 (1952-06-12) (age 57) East Lansing, Michigan
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jane Abraham
Alma mater	Harvard University Michigan State University
Religion	Eastern Orthodox

Edward Spencer Abraham (born June 12, 1952) is a former United States Senator from Michigan. He served as the tenth United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President George W. Bush. Abraham is one of the founders of the Federalist Society.

Education and family

Abraham was born in East Lansing, Michigan and a graduate of East Lansing High School. Of Lebanese descent, Abraham is married to Jane Abraham (current co-chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party) and has three children: a son and twin girls, Betsy and Julie. He holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard University, and is a 1974 Honors College graduate of Michigan State University. In 1978, while at Harvard Law School, Abraham helped found the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.^[1] It became one of the official journals of the Federalist Society, which was founded in 1982.

Political career and background

Before his election to the Senate, Abraham was a law professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Republican Party service

He was elected chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1983 to 1990. He was deputy chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle from 1990 to 1991. He later served as co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) from 1991 to 1993.

United States Senate

Abraham was elected to represent Michigan in the United States Senate in 1994, and he served until 2001 when he was defeated for reelection to the Senate in 2000 for a second term by Debbie Stabenow. He was the only Arab American in that chamber. According to the New York Times, State Republicans attributed his loss to "scathing advertisements by a wide range of special interest groups, including advertisements that criticized Mr. Abraham's support for a relaxation of some immigration restrictions".^[2] During the campaign the Federation for American Immigration Reform ran ads asking: "Why is Senator Spencer Abraham trying to make it easier for terrorists like Osama bin Laden to export their war of terror to any city street in America?"^[3][4][5] The media denounced these commercials as "vengeful".^[6] Abraham was a consistent advocate of large-scale immigration and worked relentlessly to lessen immigration controls and regulations. In 1997 he received the "Defender of the Melting Pot" award from the National Council of La Raza.^[7]

Committee service and legislation

He served on the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. He also chaired two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration. Abraham authored the "H1B Visa in Global and National Commerce Act", establishing a federal framework for on-line contracts and signatures; the "Government Paperwork Elimination Act", and the "Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act", which protects Internet domain names for businesses and persons against copyright and trademark infringements. In 1999, Abraham co-sponsored S.896, a bill to abolish the U.S. Department of Energy, which would have transferred control of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in large part to the Defense Department.^[8]

U.S. Energy Secretary

Abraham was appointed Secretary of Energy by the incoming Bush administration, a post he maintained throughout George W. Bush's first term. On November 15, 2004, Abraham announced that he would resign from the position of Secretary of Energy, which took effect with the swearing in of his successor Samuel W. Bodman on February 1, 2005.

In 2004, Lebanese Ambassador Farid Abboud awarded Abraham the National Order of the Cedar.^[9]

Hoover Institution

Abraham was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an influential conservative think tank based at Stanford University from 2005 through 2007. After leaving office, Abraham opened The Abraham Group, a Washington DC based international strategic consulting firm. In 2006, Spencer Abraham has accepted the appointment as Chairman of the Board of Areva Inc., the US subsidiary of the French nuclear energy company.^[10]

Thompson for President

On July 24, 2007, Abraham was announced as an "ambassador to official Washington" in the Fred Thompson presidential campaign.^[11]

Electoral history

Notes

External links

• Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham
• Presidential Profile: George W. Bush's Cabinet

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post

United States Senators from Michigan Class 1 Lyon • Porter • Cass • Fitzgerald • Cass • Chandler • Christiancy • Chandler • Baldwin • Conger • Stockbridge • Patton • Burrows • Townsend • Ferris • Vandenberg • Moody • Potter • Hart • Riegle • Abraham • Stabenow Class 2 Norvell • Woodbridge • Felch • Stuart • Bingham • Howard • Ferry • Palmer • McMillan • Alger • Smith • Newberry • Couzens • Brown • Ferguson • McNamara • Griffin • Levin

United States Secretaries of Energy Schlesinger • Duncan • Edwards • Hodel • Herrington • Watkins • O'Leary • Peña • Richardson • Abraham • Bodman • Chu

Cabinet of President George W. Bush (2001–2009)   Cabinet Secretary of State Colin Powell (2001–2005) • Condoleezza Rice (2005–2009) Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill (2001–2002) • John Snow (2003–2006) • Henry Paulson (2006–2009) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (2001–2006) • Robert Gates (2006–2009) Attorney General John Ashcroft (2001–2005) • Alberto Gonzales (2005–2007) • Michael Mukasey (2007–2009) Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton (2001–2006) • Dirk Kempthorne (2006–2009) Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman (2001–2005) • Mike Johanns (2005–2007) • Ed Schafer (2008–2009) Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans (2001–2005) • Carlos Gutierrez (2005–2009) Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao (2001–2009) Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson (2001–2005) • Mike Leavitt (2005–2009) Secretary of Education Rod Paige (2001–2005) • Margaret Spellings (2005–2009) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez (2001–2003) • Alphonso Jackson (2003–2008) • Steve Preston (2008–2009) Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta (2001–2006) • Mary Peters (2006–2009) Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (2001–2005) • Samuel Bodman (2005–2009) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi (2001–2005) • Jim Nicholson (2005–2007) • James Peake (2007–2009) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (2003–2005) • Michael Chertoff (2005–2009)   Cabinet-level Vice President Dick Cheney (2001–2009) White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card (2001–2006) • Joshua Bolten (2006–2009) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Christine Whitman (2001–2003) • Mike Leavitt (2003–2005) • Stephen Johnson (2005–2009) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mitch Daniels (2001–2003) • Joshua Bolten (2003–2006) • Rob Portman (2006–2007) • Jim Nussle (2007–2009) Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters (2001–2009) Trade Representative Robert Zoellick (2001–2005) • Rob Portman (2005–2006) • Susan Schwab (2006–2009)