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Biography · Politics & Public Life

Hazel R. O'Leary

1937–

United States

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Biography

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.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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