President Barack Obama Party Democratic Party Name Michael Connor | Political party Democratic Preceded by David J. Hayes Appointed by Barack Obama | |
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Alma mater New Mexico State University
University Of Colorado School Of Law Education University of Colorado Law School, New Mexico State University Similar People Barack Obama, David J Hayes, Ken Salazar, Tom Vilsack, Jonathan Jarvis Profiles | ||
Deputy Interior Secretary Michael L. Connor on issues affecting the Navajo Nation
Michael L. Connor is an American politician and government official. Among other positions in the United States Department of the Interior, he was the former United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 2014 until January 20, 2017.
Contents
- Deputy Interior Secretary Michael L Connor on issues affecting the Navajo Nation
- Early life and education
- First DOI positions
- Counsel and Reclamation Commissioner
- Deputy Secretary of the Interior
- Personal life
- References
Early life and education
Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he spent his childhood in New Mexico. His maternal grandfather was a leader within the Taos Pueblo community. His maternal grandmother was an original member of Taos Pueblo’s water rights task force, as she was half Taos Pueblo. Michael L. Connor received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from New Mexico State University. He then received his J.D. from the University Of Colorado School Of Law, and is admitted to the bars of Colorado and New Mexico.
First DOI positions
From 1984 to 1990 he worked as a professional engineer for General Electric. He was a research assistant in the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado from 1991 to 1993. He was then employed with the Interior Solicitor’s Office in Washington, DC and in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began his Department of the Interior career in the Solicitor’s Honors Program in 1993. During the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 2001, Connor served in the Department of the Interior, including as Deputy Director from 1998 to 1999 and then Director of the Secretary’s Indian Water Rights Office from 1998 to 2001. While serving in this capacity he represented the Secretary of the Interior in negotiations with Indian tribes, state representatives, and private water users to secure water rights settlements consistent with the federal trust responsibility to tribes.
Counsel and Reclamation Commissioner
He served as Counsel to the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from May 2001 until 2009. While serving as counsel he managed legislation for both the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey, developed water resources legislation and handled Native American issues that are within the Energy Committee’s jurisdiction. He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), a position he held from 2009 until his appointment as Deputy Secretary.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior
On July 31, 2013, President Obama nominated Connor to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, which was vacated by David Hayes who resigned at the end of June 2013. He received a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on September 17, 2013. He was later confirmed in a vote of 97-0 on February 27, 2014, and is the first person of Native American descent to serve in that post.
On January 20, 2017, Julie Lillie became the acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
Following his resignation as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, he was appointed as an Environment Program Fellow at the Walton Family Foundation. In September, 2017, he joined the law firm of WilmerHale, as a Partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado offices.
Personal life
He and his wife Shari had two children as of 2013.