Mineta biography

Thirty years after being imprisoned by the United States government because of the happenstance of his ancestry, Norman Y. Mineta helped change forever the inner workings of the United States House of Representatives. Over a 20-year career in the House, the San Jose Congressman worked to make the federal lawmaking process more accountable. From the federal budget to the nation’s highway system, Mineta and his generation of reform-minded legislators redefined expectations on Capitol Hill. With the moral authority derived from having been unjustly incarcerated as a child, Mineta convinced Congress to address wartime internment and helped the country understand the sins of its past.

Norman Yoshio Mineta was born in San Jose, California, on November 12, 1931, the youngest of five children, to Kunisaku and Kane Mineta. His father, Kunisaku, had arrived from Japan by himself as a teenager 29 years earlier, finding work in a number of jobs before saving up enough money to start his own insurance business in San Jose. Mineta’s family settled in the heart of the city’s largely Japanese neighborhood. Because California law prevented Asian immigrants from owning property in the state, a local attorney held the house in his name until he signed everything over to Mineta’s eldest sister, who was a U.S. citizen by birth, when she turned 21.

Growing up, Mineta attended the San Jose public schools, and every day after class he spent an hour learning Japanese. Over dinner the Minetas would discuss the day’s events, and at night their neighbors would often come over to talk about issues facing the community. “My dad was the breadwinner, the community leader, the father who encouraged all of us to participate in community activities,” Mineta later remembered. His mother, Kane, was equally active in San Jose’s social life, serving on the Parent-Teacher Association, volunteering with the church, and raising money for the American Red Cross.

But the Sa

Norman Yoshio Mineta (12.11.1931.-) je američkidemokratski političar koji se trenutno nalazi na funkciji sekretara za transport u administraciji predsjednikaGeorgea W. Busha.

Mineta je rođen u kalifornijskom gradu San Jose u familiji japanskih imigranata. Nakon japanskog napada na Pearl Harbor, Mineta je, kao i mnogi Amerikanci japanskog porijekla, prisilno interniran s kalifornijske obale u unutrašnjost.

Logor u gradu Cody u Wyomingu gdje je bio smješten su povremeno posjećivali skauti, među kojima i budući senator Alan K. Simpson, koji će Mineti postati dugogodišnji prijatelj.

Godine 1953. Mineta je diplomirao ekonomiju, a potom se priključio američkoj vojsci, te je u Japanu i Južnoj Koreji služio kao obavještajni oficir. Nakon toga se priključio očevom osiguravajućem društvu.

Politikom se počeo baviti 1967. godine, kada ga je gradonačelnik San Josea imenovao na ispražnjeno mjesto u gradskom vijeću. Godine 1969. postao je zamjenik gradonačelnika, a dvije godine kasnije i gradonačelnik te tako ušao u historiju kao prvi azijski Amerikanac kome je to uspjelo u jednom većem gradu.

Godine 1975. je izabran u Dom zastupnika američkog Kongresa, gdje je sjedio do 1995. godine. Nakon toga je radio u korporaciji Lockheed, a 2000. godine ga je predsjednik Bill Clinton imenovao za sekretara za trgovinu. Mineta je tako postao prvi Amerikanac azijskog porijekla u federalnom kabinetu.

Nakon izborne pobjede, George W. Bush mu je ponudio mjesto sekretara za transport. Mineta je pristao i danas je jedini član Demokratske stranke u njegovom kabinetu.

Mineta je odigrao važnu ulogu za vrijeme napada 11. septembra. Po njegovoj naredbi su nad zračnim prostorom SAD prisilno spušteni svi civilni avioni, a odmah je istu naredbu dao i njegov kanadski kolega. Mineta je nekoliko dana nakon napada izdao još jednu naredbu, kojom zračnim linijama zabranjuje profiliranje putnika po rasi.

23.6.2006. je predsjedniku Bushu podnio ostavku, koja će na snagu stupi

Government policy experience: U.S. secretary of commerce, 2000-2001; member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1974-1995, including 20 years on the Transportation Committee, two as committee chairman; mayor of San Jose, California, 1971-1974; San Jose city councilman, 1967-1971.

Other work experience: Senior vice president for transportation systems and services, Lockheed Martin Corporation, 1995-2000.

Education: B.S., University of California-Berkeley.

President Bush on Mineta: "Secretary Mineta would bring a lot of experience to the job. He made a reputation in the halls of Congress as someone who understands that a sound infrastructure in America will lead to economic opportunity for all Americans."

Mineta on transportation: "Our national transportation policy must have one overriding bipartisan goal, and that is to give our economy the tools and the infrastructure it needs in order to create and sustain growth and prosperity. In particular, it is no accident that in the areas in our nation where the economy has excelled, the number one issue is improving the transportation system. Inadequate infrastructure is one of the chief threats to a thriving economy."

Background: Mineta, 69, was placed at age 10 with other Japanese Americans in a World War II internment camp. Later he became the first Asian-American mayor of a major U.S. city and the first Asian-American member of a president's Cabinet. He took the Commerce post in July when William Daley left it to manage Vice President Al Gore's election campaign. Mineta is the only Democrat in the Bush Cabinet. He strongly supports "open skies" and other liberal aviation agreements with foreign governments.

American politician (1931–2022)

Norman Yoshio Mineta (Japanese: 峯田 良雄, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the Cabinet of the United States for US Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a Republican.

Mineta served as the mayor of San Jose from 1971 until 1975. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1995. Min