Michael L. Williams

Biography

Michael Lawrence Williams (born May 31, 1953) is an American educator and attorney who served as the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency from 2012 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Texas Railroad Commission from 1999 to 2011. Williams is also a former member of the elected Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory body that oversees the oil and natural gas industries. He is the first African American to hold a statewide elected executive office in Texas history. He was appointed to the commission by then-Governor George W. Bush in 1999, and won elections in 2000, 2002, and 2008 to retain the office before eventually resigning in 2011. He is one of six African Americans to hold statewide office such as Louis Sturns, Morris Overstreet, Wallace B. Jefferson, Dale Wainwright and Jesse McClure.

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