Secretary of Homeland Security

Name: Janet Napolitano
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Current City: Washington, D.C.
Job at time of appointment: Governor of Arizona
Age: 51

Janet Napolitano graduated from Santa Clara University with a Truman Scholarship, and continued to the University of Virginia School of Law. After working in the field of private law, Napolitano was appointed by President Clinton to the post of United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. She helped lead the investigation into the Oklahoma City Bombing. In 1998 she successfully ran for the position of Arizona Attorney General, where she focused on consumer protection issues and enhancing law enforcement in the state.

In 2002, Napolitano won the Arizona gubernatorial election. While governor, she became the first woman to chair the National Governors Association, where she helped to create the Public Safety Task Force and the Homeland Security Advisors Council.

President Obama nominated Napolitano for Secretary of Homeland Security mid-way through her second term as governor, and in January she became the first woman appointed secretary in the relatively new department.