Peña, Federico, 1947-

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1947-03-15

Gender:

Male

Nationality: Americans

Language: English

Biographical notes:

Federico Fabian Peña (born March 15, 1947) is an American attorney and politician. He notably served as the first Hispanic mayor of Denver, Colorado and as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 1993 to 1997 and United States Secretary of Energy from 1997 to 1998, during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

Born in Laredo, Texas, he attended Catholic schools in Brownsville, Texas before earning B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. After a short stint working as a legal aid attorney in El Paso, Peña moved to Denver, Colorado, where he was admitted to the bar and again worked in legal aid before becoming a staff attorney for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Federico Peña's elective political career began at age thirty-one in the Colorado House of Representatives. In search of an aggressive leader, the Democrats selected Peña as minority party leader in only his second term. Then, in a surprise move, the promising young lawmaker abandoned legislative life at the end of that term in 1983 to run for mayor of Denver. A virtual unknown, Peña challenged fourteen- year incumbent mayor Bill McNichols and won a close and improbable victory. In the face of opposition, Peña sought a second term. On the eve of the election he was roughly twenty points down in the polls, but again he won a close election. With an economic strategy in place, and with more experience, Mayor Peña launched a number of extremely successful capital development projects. His reputation solidified, he once again surprised observers by rejecting a run for a third term.

Peña advised Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton on transportation issues during Clinton's Presidential transition and thereafter Clinton chose Peña to head the United States Department of Transportation. Although Peña had planned to leave Clinton's cabinet after the President's first term, he was persuaded to remain in the administration, this time serving as secretary of energy. Peña agreed to do so for one year, ultimately leaving the cabinet in 1998. Federico Peña then joined Vestar Capital Partners, where he currently serves as managing partner. Peña was a National Co-Chair of the Complete Coalition. Today he serves on several corporate boards and is involved in several philanthropic organizations.