Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue's most prominent federal role was serving as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture, a position he held from 2017 to 2021.
Born on December 20, 1946, in Perry, Georgia, Perdue attended Warner Robins High School and A. H. Parker High School before going on to study at the University of Georgia. He built a career that drew on several fields — veterinary medicine, business, and military service — before moving into politics. He entered elected office as a member of the Georgia State Senate in 1991, a seat he held until 2002. That legislative experience led to his next step: in 2003, he became the 81st governor of Georgia, serving in that office until 2011.
Following his time as governor, Perdue later took on a federal role when he was appointed to lead the United States Department of Agriculture in 2017. He served in that cabinet position through January 2021. His path from the Georgia State Senate, where he began in 1991, through the governor's office, and on to a seat in the federal cabinet reflects a public career that combined his background as a politician, businessman, veterinarian, and military officer. His education at the University of Georgia was part of the foundation on which that career was built.
Quotes by Sonny Perdue
I want the USDA to look like America, and I want it to be the best, most effectively managed agency in the U.S. That starts with good people.
I think overall, from a deputy, from an undersecretary standpoint, the goal of a good leader is to get diversity across there. Geographical diversity is important. Industry diversity is important: you can't have all corn growers... Not only that, you've got gender diversity, you've got racial diversity.
I'm going to be the unapologetic chief advocate, chief salesman for American agriculture products around the world. You grow 'em, we're going to sell 'em.
I'm not sure about public apologies on behalf of other people as far as the motivation for them.
I haven't run across anyone in Georgia who is not regretful and repentant of man's inhumanity when you talk about owning one another.
In Georgia, agriculture is one area where Democrats and Republicans consistently reached across the aisle and work together.
We have seen levee breaks and flooding in the wake of storms, some of which have caused the loss of life, and USDA is ready to assist in any way we can.
We have to get out of the mindset that, 'If I invest $1 in crop insurance, I want to make sure I get a $1.10 or plus out of that.'
I want to say something in a tough-love kind of way about crop insurance. Let's face it: You don't buy insurance on your house hoping it will burn down. Neither do we want to buy crop insurance and hope our crop fails so we can file.
