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Tom Vilsack
Thomas James Vilsack (/ˈvɪlsæk/; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Barack Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Joe Biden administration. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 40th Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
On November 30, 2006, he formally launched his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election, but ended his bid on February 23, 2007. President-elect Barack Obama announced Vilsack's selection to be Secretary of Agriculture on December 17, 2008. His nomination was unanimously confirmed on January 20, 2009 by the United States Senate . Until his resignation on January 13, 2017, one week prior to the end of Obama's second term as president, he had been the only member of the U.S. Cabinet who had served since the day Obama took office.
On July 19, 2016, The Washington Post reported that Vilsack was on Hillary Clinton's two-person shortlist to be her running mate for that year's presidential election. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia was ultimately selected. On December 10, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Vilsack to once again serve as secretary of agriculture in the incoming Biden administration. On February 23rd, 2021, Vilsack was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the vote, 92–7. Vilsack is the second longest serving Secretary of Agriculture, only surpassed by fellow Iowan James "Tama Jim" Wilson.
Vilsack was born on December 13, 1950, in a Catholic orphanage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his 23-year-old birth mother (a secretary) had lived since September 1950 under the pseudonym of "Gloria"; he was baptized as "Kenneth". He was adopted in 1951 by a real-estate agent and insurance salesman, Bud Vilsack (1915-1972), and his wife Dolly Vilsack (1920-1977). They re-named him Thomas James. The Vilsack's had a daughter, Alice (1944-1990), who died 2 years after a heart transplant when her body eventually rejected the organ.
Vilsack attended Shady Side Academy, a preparatory high school in Pittsburgh. He received a bachelor's degree in 1972 from Hamilton College. While at Hamilton, he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity. On August 18, 1973, he married Ann Christine "Christie" Bell. He received a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in 1975.
Tom Vilsack moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa after his marriage. Vilsack raised funds to rebuild an athletic facility for young people. In a 2016 interview, he describes himself "as the Jerry Lewis of Mount Pleasant for a couple days" when he hosted a pledge drive on the local radio station to raise the funds. This led him to involvement in the local Chamber of Commerce and United Way. He and his wife volunteered in the failed 1988 presidential campaign of then senator Joe Biden.
After the mayor of Mount Pleasant was gunned down in December 1986, Vilsack led a fundraising drive to build a memorial fountain. The mayor's father asked Vilsack to run for mayor of Mount Pleasant; he was elected and began serving in 1987.
Vilsack was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1992. He began by working on legislation requiring companies that received state tax incentives to provide better pay and benefits. He helped pass a law for workers to receive health coverage when changing jobs and helped redesign Iowa's Workforce Development Department. He also wrote a bill to have the State of Iowa assume a 50% share of local county mental health costs.
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Tom Vilsack
Thomas James Vilsack (/ˈvɪlsæk/; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Barack Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Joe Biden administration. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 40th Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
On November 30, 2006, he formally launched his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 election, but ended his bid on February 23, 2007. President-elect Barack Obama announced Vilsack's selection to be Secretary of Agriculture on December 17, 2008. His nomination was unanimously confirmed on January 20, 2009 by the United States Senate . Until his resignation on January 13, 2017, one week prior to the end of Obama's second term as president, he had been the only member of the U.S. Cabinet who had served since the day Obama took office.
On July 19, 2016, The Washington Post reported that Vilsack was on Hillary Clinton's two-person shortlist to be her running mate for that year's presidential election. U.S. Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia was ultimately selected. On December 10, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Vilsack to once again serve as secretary of agriculture in the incoming Biden administration. On February 23rd, 2021, Vilsack was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the vote, 92–7. Vilsack is the second longest serving Secretary of Agriculture, only surpassed by fellow Iowan James "Tama Jim" Wilson.
Vilsack was born on December 13, 1950, in a Catholic orphanage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his 23-year-old birth mother (a secretary) had lived since September 1950 under the pseudonym of "Gloria"; he was baptized as "Kenneth". He was adopted in 1951 by a real-estate agent and insurance salesman, Bud Vilsack (1915-1972), and his wife Dolly Vilsack (1920-1977). They re-named him Thomas James. The Vilsack's had a daughter, Alice (1944-1990), who died 2 years after a heart transplant when her body eventually rejected the organ.
Vilsack attended Shady Side Academy, a preparatory high school in Pittsburgh. He received a bachelor's degree in 1972 from Hamilton College. While at Hamilton, he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity. On August 18, 1973, he married Ann Christine "Christie" Bell. He received a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in 1975.
Tom Vilsack moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa after his marriage. Vilsack raised funds to rebuild an athletic facility for young people. In a 2016 interview, he describes himself "as the Jerry Lewis of Mount Pleasant for a couple days" when he hosted a pledge drive on the local radio station to raise the funds. This led him to involvement in the local Chamber of Commerce and United Way. He and his wife volunteered in the failed 1988 presidential campaign of then senator Joe Biden.
After the mayor of Mount Pleasant was gunned down in December 1986, Vilsack led a fundraising drive to build a memorial fountain. The mayor's father asked Vilsack to run for mayor of Mount Pleasant; he was elected and began serving in 1987.
Vilsack was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1992. He began by working on legislation requiring companies that received state tax incentives to provide better pay and benefits. He helped pass a law for workers to receive health coverage when changing jobs and helped redesign Iowa's Workforce Development Department. He also wrote a bill to have the State of Iowa assume a 50% share of local county mental health costs.