ELAINE CHAO

'Elaine Lan Chao' (;^[1] born March 26, 1953) currently serves as the 24th United States Secretary of Labor in the Cabinet of President of the United States George W. Bush. She is the first Asian American woman and first Chinese American^[2] to be appointed to a President's cabinet in American history. Chao is the President's only original cabinet member, making her the longest serving cabinet member during President Bush's administration and is the fifth-longest-serving Secretary of Labor.[1]

Contents

Childhood and education

Career

With George H.W. Bush administration

United Way and Heritage Foundation

Labor Secretary

Timeline

Family

Controversy

Notes and references

External links

Childhood and education

Chao was born in Taipei, Taiwan, to James S. C. Chao (趙錫成 Zhào Xīchéng), a Shanghainese entrepreneur, and Ruth Mu-lan Chu (朱木蘭 Zhū Mùlán), a historian. Her parents had fled to Taiwan from mainland China after the Chinese Communists took over as a result of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. At the age of eight, Elaine Chao and her family immigrated to the United States, where her father had already settled a few years earlier. She attended Syosset High School on Long Island, New York.
Chao received her B.A. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College in 1975 and her MBA from the Harvard Business School. She also studied at MIT, Dartmouth College, and Columbia University. She is the recipient of 29 honorary doctoral degrees from colleges and universities around the world.

Career

After a brief stint as a banker with Citigroup, she was selected as a White House Fellow in 1983, working in the Office of Policy Development. After her fellowship, she moved to California and worked as a vice president with Bank of America Capital Markets Group.

With George H.W. Bush administration

In 1986, Chao returned to Washington D.C. as Deputy Administrator of the Maritime Administration in the US Department of Transportation. From 1988 to 1989, she served as Chairwoman of the Federal Maritime Commission.
In 1989, President George H. W. Bush nominated Chao to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation, the number two position in the department. From 1991 to 1992, Chao was Director of the Peace Corps. She was the first Asian American to serve in all these positions. She expanded the Peace Corps's presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia by establishing the first Peace Corps programs in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union.

United Way and Heritage Foundation

Following her service in the government, Chao worked for four years as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of America. She is credited with returning credibility and public trust back to the organization after an embarrassing financial mismanagement scandal involving former United Way of America president Bill Aramony. From 1996 until her appointment as Secretary of Labor, Chao was a Distinguished Fellow with the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Labor Secretary

As Secretary of Labor, Chao pursued changes in the overtime regulations. The Department of Labor enacted revised regulations that raised the minimum weekly salary for executive, administrative, and professional employees who are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act from from $155 to $455. The changes were the first since 1975. The final regulations went into effect in August 2004. The administration touted that these changes would provide strengthened overtime protection for 6.7 million workers, however many groups, including the AFL-CIO and Economic Policy Institute (half of whose board members are union presidents) believed it would do the opposite.
After Donald Rumsfeld has stepped down from his position as Secretary of Defense, she became the only original Cabinet member still serving in the Bush Administration in the same position to which she was appointed.

Timeline

★ 1983: White House Fellow, Office of Policy Development, the White House

★ 1986: Deputy Administrator, Maritime Administration, US Department of Transportation

★ 1988–89: Chairwoman, Federal Maritime Commission

★ 1989: Deputy Secretary of Transportation

★ 1991–92: Director, Peace Corps

★ 1992–96: President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of America

★ 1996: Distinguished Fellow, Heritage Foundation

★ 2001–Present: U.S. Secretary of Labor

Family

Elaine Chao is married to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Minority Leader of the United States Senate. She is also the eldest of six girls in her family.

Controversy

In the July 1, 2007 issue of Parade magazine Chao caused some controversy when the magazine quoted her what some thought were [disparaging comments][2] about American workers:

“American employees must be punctual, dress appropriately and have good personal hygiene,” says Chao. “They need anger-management and conflict-resolution skills, and they have to be able to accept direction. Too many young people bristle when a supervisor asks them to do something.”

She [claimed][3] in a clarification on July 10, 2007 that the magazine had taken her comments out of context:

omitted the bulk of an interview which focused on the tremendous achievements and competitive advantages of the American workforce and the many reasons American workers have to be optimistic about the future. The article did not reflect my message to Parade’s readers.

Notes and references

1. Hsiao-lan means "little orchid." Elaine Chao has four sisters, three of whom also have names starting with "Little" (Xiao). They are: Xiao-mei (小美, little beauty), Xiao-pu (小甫), Xiao-ting (小婷).
2. Press Briefing by Administration Officials on American Competitiveness Initiative (February 1, 2006), retrieved July 27, 2006

External links

★ Office of the Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao

★

★ U.S. Department of Labor Biography

★ Peace Corps biography of Elaine Chao news clips