Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47th governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011 and as the 51st attorney general of Michigan from 1999 to 2003, the first woman to hold either office.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Granholm moved to California at age four. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984 and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1987. She then clerked for Judge Damon Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1991, and was appointed to the Wayne County Corporation Counsel in 1995.
In 1998, Granholm ran for attorney general of Michigan, defeating Republican nominee John Smietanka. She ran for governor of Michigan in 2002 and was elected the state's first female governor. She was re-elected in 2006.
Granholm was a member of the presidential transition team for Barack Obama before he assumed office in 2009.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Granholm moved to California at age four. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984 and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1987. She then clerked for Judge Damon Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1991, and was appointed to the Wayne County Corporation Counsel in 1995.
In 1998, Granholm ran for attorney general of Michigan, defeating Republican nominee John Smietanka. She ran for governor of Michigan in 2002 and was elected the state's first female governor. She was re-elected in 2006.
Granholm was a member of the presidential transition team for Barack Obama before he assumed office in 2009.
