Spencer Abraham
Edward Spencer Abraham (born
June 12,
1952 in
East Lansing, Michigan) is an
American politician, of Syro-Lebanese extraction. He had served as the 10th
United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President
George W. Bush. In 2006, Spencer Abraham was named director of
Areva Inc., the US subsidiary of the French nuclear energy company
[ ].
Spencer Abraham and his wife, Jane, have three children. He holds a
Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from
Harvard University, and is a 1974 Honors College graduate of
Michigan State University and is a native of
East Lansing, Michigan. His parents were
Lebanese immigrants.
Before his election to the Senate, Abraham was a law professor at
Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He was deputy chief of staff for Vice President
Dan Quayle from 1990 to 1991. He later served as co-chairman of the
National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) from 1991 to 1993. Previously, he was chairman of the
Michigan Republican Party from 1983 to 1990.
Prior to becoming Energy Secretary, Abraham represented
Michigan in the
United States Senate from 1995 to 2001, as the only
Arab American in that chamber. He served on the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and
Small Business Committees. He also chaired two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration. Abraham authored the "H1B Visa in Global and National Commerce Act", establishing a federal framework for on-line contracts and signatures; the "Government Paperwork Elimination Act", and the "Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act", which protects Internet domain names for businesses and persons against copyright and trademark infringements. He was defeated for reelection to the Senate in
2000 for a second term by
Debbie Stabenow.
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Spencer Abraham |
Abraham was given the position of Secretary of Energy by the incoming Bush administration, a post he stayed at for the first Bush term. On
November 15,
2004, Abraham announced that he would resign from the position of
Secretary of Energy, which took effect with the swearing in of his successor
Samuel W. Bodman on
February 1,
2005.
On
February 14,
2005 The
Toronto Star reported that Abraham was on a short list of candidates for American ambassador to Canada to replace
Paul Cellucci.
In July 2005, Abraham's wife, Jane, announced that after some consideration she would not be a candidate for the
U.S. Senate to challenge
Debbie Stabenow. Michigan Republicans had attempted to recruit Mrs. Abraham to run against the first-term Stabenow, who had defeated her husband in 2000.
Abraham is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the
Hoover Institution, an influential
conservative think tank based at
Stanford University.
*
2000 Race for U.S. Senate**
Debbie Stabenow (D), 49%
**Spencer Abraham (R) (inc.), 48%
*
1994 Race for U.S. Senate**Spencer Abraham (R), 52%
**
Bob Carr (D), 43%
**Jon Coon (Lib.), 4%
*
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham*
Presidential Profile: George W. Bush's Cabinet *
Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
