Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. was an American educator and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Education, and was the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet.

The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities related to all education in the United States. As a member of the Cabinet of the United States, the secretary is sixteenth in the line of succession to the presidency.