Manuel Lujan

Manuel Lujan

Manuel Lujan Jr. (born May 12, 1928 in San Ildefonso Pueblo , New Mexico , † April 25, 2019 in Albuquerque , New Mexico) was an American politician . He was Secretary of the Interior of the United States from 1989 to 1993 . Between 1969 and 1989 he represented the first constituency of the state of New Mexico in the US House of Representatives .

Early years

Manuel Lujan was born on a small farm near an Indian settlement in Santa Fe County . His father was the mayor of Santa Fe . Until 1946 Manuel attended St. Michael's High School in Santa Fe and then St. Mary's College in San Francisco . Most recently he attended the College of Santa Fe until 1950 . In the same year he joined the reserve of the National Guard. After finishing school, he worked in the family's insurance company.

Political rise

Lujan became a member of the Republican Party and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the New Mexico Senate in 1964 . Between 1972 and 2004 he took part in a total of eight Republican National Conventions as a delegate and was in the meantime deputy party leader in New Mexico. In 1968 he was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he replaced Thomas G. Morris on January 3, 1969 . After being re-elected for the next 20 years, he was able to exercise his mandate in Congress until January 3, 1989. In 1988 he decided not to run again.

United States Secretary of the Interior

After President George Bush took office , Lujan was appointed as the new Secretary of the Interior of the United States in his cabinet . He was already under discussion for this office under President Ronald Reagan . In February 1989, Lujan replaced Donald P. Hodel as Minister of the Interior . Lujan remained in that post throughout President Bush's tenure. At times he came under criticism from environmentalists for his support for oil production off the Californian coast.

Another résumé

In 1994 Lujan was raised as a possible candidate for New Mexico gubernatorial election . However, he rejected such a candidacy. Today he lives in Albuquerque . His niece Michelle Lujan Grisham was a member of Congress for the first constituency of New Mexico from 2013 to 2018 and has been governor of the state of New Mexico since early 2019.

Web links

• Manuel Lujan in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Manuel Lujan at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Zach Montague: Manuel Luján Jr., Ex-Congressman and Interior Secretary, Dies at 90. In: The New York Times , April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.