PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Oscar S. Straus

German-born American diplomat and public official Oscar S. Straus served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 to 1909.

United States

Bain News Service / Library of CongressWikimedia CommonsPublic domain

Biography

Oscar Solomon Straus was born on 23 December 1850 in Otterberg, Bavaria, and immigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He studied at Columbia College and Columbia Law School, then worked as a lawyer and in the family business before entering public service. Straus represented the United States diplomatically in the Ottoman Empire, served on the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague and became Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt. His service beginning in December 1906 made him the first Jewish member of a United States Cabinet. After leaving the department, he returned to diplomacy and later chaired the New York Public Service Commission. Straus was also prominent in American Jewish public life and international peace work. He published his autobiography, Under Four Administrations, in 1922 and died in New York City on 3 May 1926.

Records held by Oscar S. Straus

Portrait of U.S. Cabinet member Oscar S. Straus.

JWR Verified

Community & SocietyFirst

First Jewish Member of the United States Cabinet

Record holder

Oscar S. Straus

Record value

17 December 1906

On 17 December 1906, Oscar S. Straus entered office as United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor in President Theodore Roosevelt’s Cabinet. The Library of Congress identifies the appointment as the first time a Jew held a Cabinet position in the United States, while official Commerce records place his service from 17 December 1906 through 5 March 1909. The record is defined by the date Straus actually began Cabinet service, not by the earlier announcement of his nomination. His appointment joined a career in law, diplomacy, public administration and international arbitration. It also marked a visible national milestone for Jewish participation in the highest level of the federal executive branch. JWR found no earlier Jewish head of a Cabinet-rank executive department. Archival footage of Straus is retained only as holder context because no direct moving image of the 1906 appointment or oath was located.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., United States
Achievement date: 17 December 1906

View full record