The tables on this page show the composition of President Bill Clinton’s first-term Cabinet and his nominations for his second term starting in 1997.
The information about the history of Cabinet positions has been sourced from “Governing by Consent – An Introduction to American Politics”, John F. Bibby, Congressional Quarterly, 1992, p478.
| President Clinton’s Cabinet – 1996 and 1997 |
| Department |
Year Established |
Notes |
1996 |
1997 |
| State |
1789 |
Originally named Department of Foreign Affairs but redesignated Department of State in 1789 |
Warren Christopher |
Madeleine Albright |
| Treasury |
1789 |
Expanded through a subsequent series of statutes |
Robert E. Rubin |
Robert E. Rubin |
| Interior |
1849 |
Created by the merger of the General Land Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pension Office, and Patent Office |
Bruce Babbitt |
Bruce Babbitt |
| Agriculture |
1862 |
Originally administered by a commissioner, the department saw its powers expand in 1889 |
Dan Glickman |
Dan Glickman |
| Justice |
1870 |
Before 1870 the attorney general was a cabinet officer but not head of a department |
Janet Reno |
Janet Reno |
| Labor |
1913 |
Originally a bureau within the Department of Interior, it became an independent department in 1913 |
Robert B. Reich |
Alexis Herman |
| Commerce |
1913 |
Designated a department when the Department of Commerce and Labor, created in 1903, was reorganised |
Mickey Kantor |
William Daley |
| Defence |
1949 |
After several reorganisations, the original Departments of War (1789) and Navy (1798) were merged into the Department of Defence |
William J. Perry |
William Cohen |
| Health and Human Services |
1953 |
Established as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare but redesignated Health and Human Services when Education was made a separate department in 1979 |
Donna E. Shalala |
Donna E. Shalala |
| Housing and Urban Development |
1965 |
Created by combining agencies responsible for housing, including the Housing and Home Finance Agency, with those involved in urban development |
Henry G. Cisneros |
Andrew Cuomo |
| Transportation |
1966 |
Created out of eight existing agencies |
Federico F. Pena |
Rodney Slater |
| Energy |
1977 |
Created by transferring existing energy agencies and bureaus to the new department |
Hazel R. O’Leary |
Federico F. Pena |
| Education |
1979 |
Originally the Office of Education in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare |
Richard W. Riley |
Richard W. Riley |
| Veterans Affairs |
1988 |
Created by elevating the Veterans Administration to cabinet-level status |
Jesse Brown |
Jesse Brown |
| Other Appointments – 1997 |
| Position/Office |
Notes |
1996 Incumbent |
1997 Nominee |
| Chief of Staff |
|
Leon Panetta |
Erskine W. Bowles |
| Director of Office of Management and Budget |
|
Franklin D. Raines |
Franklin D. Raines |
| Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers |
Chief Economic Adviser |
Joseph Stiglitz |
Janet Yellen |
| United Nations Ambassador |
This position has Cabinet-level status by presidential fiat |
Madeleine Albright |
Bill Richardson |
| Small Business Administration Director |
This position has Cabinet-level status by presidential fiat |
Phil Lader |
Aida Alvarez |
| Domestic Policy Adviser |
|
Carol Rasco |
Bruce Reed |
| Special Envoy to Latin America |
McLarty will also have a seat on the National Economic Council |
|
Mack McLarty |
| White House Counsel |
|
Jack Quinn |
|
