Ann Veneman

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Ann Margaret Veneman

Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949 in Modesto , California ) is an American politician ( Republican Party ) and former director of the UN children's aid organization UNICEF . She was the first woman to become the United States Secretary of Agriculture .

Family and school

Ann Veneman grew up on a peach farm in Modesto. She was a lawyer, holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Davis , a master's degree in public policy from the University of Berkeley , California, and a doctorate in law from Hastings College of Law , San Francisco .

Career

Veneman joined the Department of Agriculture's overseas service in 1986 and was an assistant clerk until 1989. From 1989 to 1991, she was Agriculture Undersecretary for International Affairs and Trade Programs. Under President George Bush she was Parliamentary Secretary of State from 1991 to 1993. She was actively involved in the GATT negotiations in Uruguay , NAFTA and the free trade agreement between the USA and Canada . From 1995 to 1999, Veneman headed the California Department of Food and Agriculture . In this role, she developed agricultural programs for the largest agricultural product producing state in the United States. She was appointed to his cabinet by President George W. Bush as Secretary of Agriculture and unanimously approved by the Senate . She took office on January 21, 2001, the day the President was inaugurated. Veneman was the 27th Secretary of Agriculture and the first woman to hold the post.

During her tenure, the BSE epidemic began, whereupon her ministry banned the slaughter of no longer fit animals and increased the number of BSE tests from around 20,000 to 200,000. The farmers criticized the reluctance to provide information after the epidemic became known and the close cooperation with large corporations in general. For example, it has overridden trade restrictions and made it easier to open up new markets: (she) " played a key role in eliminating trade barriers and expanding opportunities for American farmers through new export markets. She has worked closely with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, helping lead to the successful launch of a new round of trade negotiations for the World Trade Organization, "Meatnews wrote. On November 15, 2004, she announced that she would resign as Minister of Agriculture; her successor was Mike Johanns . In May 2005, Veneman took up the post of Director of the UN Children's Fund UNICEF for a term of five years, succeeding Carol Bellamy , who held this post for ten years.

Veneman is currently a member of the board of directors at Nestlé . Breast milk initiatives see this as a contradiction to previous work at UNICEF .

engagement

In her spare time, she is a board member of the Close-Up Foundation , an independent civic education organization based in Washington .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Veneman, Ann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Veneman, Ann Margaret
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 29, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Modesto , California