AUSTIN, Texas -- President-elect George W. Bush last week said he named Ann M. Veneman to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in his forthcoming administration, pending Congressional approval.
secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture from 1995 to 1999, Veneman directed the state agency that oversees the largest agricultural economy in the nation. Drawing on her background in international trade, she made it a priority to expand global opportunities for California agriculture.
From 1991 to 1993, during the Bush administration, Veneman served as deputy secretary of the USDA. As the second-ranking person in the department, she directed and oversaw 42 agencies with a budget of more than $60 billion.
For the previous two years, Veneman served as deputy undersecretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity Programs, where she managed trade policy, trade negotiations and food aid. Veneman joined the USDA's Foreign Agricultural service in 1986 and was actively involved in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, NAFTA and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
Raised on a peach farm in Modesto, Calif., Veneman earned 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 California at Berkeley, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.
