Tom Vilsack

Tom Vilsack (2009)

Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack (born December 13, 1950 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . He was Governor of the State of Iowa from 1999 to 2007 and Secretary of Agriculture in President Barack Obama's cabinet from January 2009 to January 2017 .

Family, education and work

Vilsack was adopted in 1951. In 1972 he graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton , New York, with a bachelor's degree . There he met his future wife Christie in the early 1970s. In 1975 he graduated from Albany Law School with a law degree . He and his wife then moved to their hometown, Mount Pleasant , Iowa . His political career began in 1987 with the office of Mayor of Mount Pleasant.

Political career

Governor of Iowa

Vilsack was the 40th governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007 . During his tenure, he made a name for himself as a proponent of genetic engineering . In May 2001, for example, Vilsack helped found the Governors Biotechnology Partnership, an intermediary agency for democratic and republican governors, to “educate” them about the “advances in the development” of genetic engineering and to “understand” this high technology to promote. This initiative soon included more than 20 governors, including the President's brother Jeb Bush . In 2001 Tom Vilsack was elected “Governor of the Year” by the genetic engineering industry for his services.

For a short time he applied within the Democratic primary for the 2008 US presidential election , but withdrew from the race on February 23, 2007, which he justified with funding problems. On January 12, 2007 he handed over the governorship to his successor, Chet Culver , who was elected on November 7, 2006 .

United States Secretary of Agriculture

Tom Vilsack was named future Agriculture Secretary of the Obama Administration on December 17, 2008 during the transition of the presidency . This decision provoked some opposition; for example, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) organized a massive campaign against Vilsack's appointment. Critics complain that, as an avowed advocate of genetic engineering, he supports the interests of seed companies such as Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred too much and too few organic farmers and sustainable agriculture. On January 20, 2009, the day Obama's inauguration, Vilsack's appointment was nevertheless confirmed by acclamation by the Senate . At the State of the Union Address in 2012, Vilsack was Designated Survivor , which means that in the event of an attack on the Capitol , he would have succeeded Obama as president as the highest-ranking survivor. When the Obama administration was replaced by the Trump administration in January 2017, Vilsack's term of office also ended. He resigned a few days earlier, on January 13, 2017, as the last person to have been a member of the cabinet from the beginning of Obama's term in office.

Hillary Clinton , a Democratic candidate for the 2016 presidential election , was considering making Vilsack her running mate and runner-up for the presidency . The Washington Post reported in July 2016 that Vilsack was one of the last two candidates, ultimately losing only to Tim Kaine , who became Clinton's running mate.

After the ministerial office

Vilsack became president of the US Dairy Export Council , a lobby group for the export of dairy products.

Vilsack was considered a possible candidate for the Democrats in the 2020 election to the United States Senate against the Republican mandate holder Joni Ernst , but he decided against running in February 2019.

Web links

Commons : Tom Vilsack  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Tom Vilsack in nndb (English)
• Tom Vilsack in the National Governors Association (English)
• Tom Vilsack in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Governors Biotechnology Partnership. ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Mindfully.org. 
2. ^ Iowa's Vilsack Named Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Governor of the Year ( Memento from July 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). In: BIO.org. September 20, 2001.
3. ^ Vilsack Drops Out of Presidential Race. In: The Washington Post , February 23, 2007.
4. ↑ Genetic engineering advocate becomes Secretary of Agriculture in the USA. In: Bio-Markt.info ; Criticism of Obama's decision. In. The daily newspaper .
5. ↑ Seven Obama nominees approved. In: Politico , January 20, 2009.
6. ^ O. Kay Henderson: Today is Vilsack's last day as US Ag Secretary. In: Radio Iowa , Jan. 13, 2017.
7. ^ Anne Gearan, Abby Phillip: Two names emerge from Clinton's VP deliberations: Kaine and Vilsack. In: The Washington Post , July 19, 2016.
8. ^ Janelle Tucker: Vilsack Wraps Up First Year as President of US Dairy Export Council. In: KMich.com , January 4, 2018.
9. ↑ Andrew Tanenbaum: Will Tom Vilsack Run Against Joni Ernst in 2020? In: Electoral Vote , November 13, 2018.
10. ↑ Brianne Pfannenstiel: Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the US Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. In: Des Moines Register , February 22, 2019.