John Bryson
John Edgar Bryson (born July 24, 1943) is an American lawyer who was United States Secretary of Commerce from 2011 to 2012, the 37th person to hold the post since its establishment in 1913. Prior to this, he served as the chairman, chief executive officer and president of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison and as director of The Boeing Company. He co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council with fellow Yale alumni in 1970.
John Bryson | |
|---|---|
| 37th United States Secretary of Commerce | |
| In office October 21, 2011 – June 21, 2012 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Rebecca Blank |
| Preceded by | Gary Locke |
| Succeeded by | Penny Pritzker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Edgar Bryson July 24, 1943 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
The Senate confirmed Bryson as Secretary of Commerce by a 74–26 vote on October 20, 2011. He was sworn in on October 21, 2011. Bryson took a leave of absence in June 2012 for medical tests due to seizures that were related to successive hit and run vehicular accidents. On June 21, 2012 Bryson resigned because, "the work that [Commerce employees] do to help America’s entrepreneurs and businesses build our economy and create jobs is more important now than ever and I have come to the conclusion that I need to step down to prevent distractions from this critical mission."