Gary Faye Locke is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the state of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor as well as the first Asian American governor in the continental U.S. During the Obama administration, Locke served as Secretary of Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and as Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2014, the first Chinese American to serve in the role.
Official portrait, 2009
Locke's family awaiting the arrival of President Barack Obama in the White House on May 1, 2009
Gary Locke's official portrait for the U.S. Department of Commerce was painted by Michele Rushworth
Chen Guangcheng (left) with Locke (center) and Kurt M. Campbell (right) at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on May 1, 2012
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary reports directly to the president and is a statutory member of Cabinet of the United States. The secretary is appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The secretary of commerce is concerned with promoting American businesses and industries; the department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce".
United States Secretary of Commerce
The Commerce Secretary's office as it looked in the mid-20th century.
Image: William Cox Redfield
Image: Joshua Willis Alexander
