Hazel R. O'Leary

Hazel O'Leary
7th United States Secretary of Energy
In office January 22, 1993 – January 20, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Deputy	Bill White Charles B. Curtis
Preceded by	James D. Watkins
Succeeded by	Federico Peña
14th President of Fisk University
In office July 13, 2004 – January 31, 2013
Preceded by	Carolynn Reid-Wallace
Succeeded by	James Williams
Personal details
Born	Hazel Reid (1937-05-17) May 17, 1937 (age 87) Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Carl Rollins (divorced) Max Robinson (divorced) John O'Leary ​ ​ (m. 1980; died 1987)​
Children	1
Education	Fisk University (BA) Rutgers University, Newark (LLB)

Hazel Reid O'Leary (born May 17, 1937) is an American lawyer, politician, and university administrator who served as the 7th United States secretary of energy from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Leary was the first woman and first African American to hold that post. She also served as the 14th president of Fisk University from 2004 to 2013, a historically black college and her alma mater. O'Leary's tenure at Fisk came amid financial difficulty for the school, during which time she increased enrollment and contentiously used the school's art collection to raise funds.

O'Leary received her bachelor's degree from Fisk before earning her Bachelor of Laws degree from Rutgers School of Law. O'Leary worked as a prosecutor in New Jersey and then in a private consulting/accounting firm before joining the Carter administration in the newly created Department of Energy. O'Leary returned to the private sector in 1981 but rejoined the government as secretary of energy under President Bill Clinton. During her tenure, she declassified documents detailing how the United States had conducted secret testing on the effects of radiation on unsuspecting American citizens. She also received criticism for excessive spending on international trips while in office.