Jeh Johnson is another of President Barack Obama’s high-profile African-American picks appointed to top positions in the presidential Cabinet.
Johnson, who served as general counsel for former President Bill Clinton, was sworn in as the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security in December 2013. He is the first Black person to assume the role.
Johnson was born September 11, 1957 in New York City. The Morehouse man and Columbia Law School graduate worked for New York as the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District.
Johnson also worked as general counsel for the Air Force during the tail end of President Clinton’s second term then went into private practice as an attorney, becoming the first Black partner of the prestigious New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Johnson’s first name, Jeh, is pronounced “Jay,” and was taken from a Liberian chief who reportedly saved the life of his grandfather during the 1930s. Johnson’s grandfather, Dr. Charles S. Johnson, was the first president of Fisk University in Tennessee.
Johnson worked in private practice until 2009 when President Obama named him as general counsel for the Department of Defense.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates had glowing praise for Johnson, calling him the “finest lawyer I’ve ever worked with in government.” Johnson worked on counterterrorism measures on the legal side, and also oversaw reforms in Guantanamo Bay.
In 2010, he helped co-author a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. In October 2013, President Obama nominated him for the Homeland security post and he was easily confirmed.
iJohnson has been recognized by a series of law organizations for his service as an attorney and federal prosecutor. He was elected as a fellow to the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2004.
