James Wilson Was US Secretary of Agriculture for 16 Years

There have been a number of people who have served for more than a decade in a single Cabinet post.

Names that include the likes of Albert Gallatin (Treasury), Frances Perkins (Labor) and Harold Ickes (Interior).

The longest serving US cabinet member, however, remains James Wilson, who served as the Secretary of Agriculture for a total of 15 years and 364 days.

Wilson, who started as the Secretary of Agriculture in 1897, served under three different Presidents - President McKinley, President Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft.

Wilson was able to retain his position for so long due to a number of different factors, including:

1) McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft were all Republicans
2) Wilson was highly respected
3) Wilson had a deep knowledge of agriculture

Wilson, who was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1867, was also a professional of agriculture at Iowa State University.

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Here are the other former Cabinet members who served at least a decade (uninterrupted) in the same Cabinet position:

Harold Ickes, Interior, 12 years, 346 days
Albert Gallatin, Treasury, 12 years, 270 days
Frances Perkins, Labor, 12 years, 116 days
Cordell Hull, State, 11 years, 271 days
Henry Morgenthau, Treasury, 11 years, 202 days
William Wirt, Justice, 11 years, 112 days
Andrew Mellon, Treasury, 11 years, 8 days

Filed under: General Knowledge