Sonny Perdue

Sonny Perdue
14th Chancellor of the University System of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office April 1, 2022
Preceded by	Steve Wrigley
31st United States Secretary of Agriculture
In office April 25, 2017 – January 20, 2021
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Stephen Censky
Preceded by	Tom Vilsack
Succeeded by	Tom Vilsack
81st Governor of Georgia
In office January 13, 2003 – January 10, 2011
Lieutenant	Mark Taylor Casey Cagle
Preceded by	Roy Barnes
Succeeded by	Nathan Deal
Member of the Georgia Senate from the 18th district
In office January 9, 1991 – January 9, 2002
Preceded by	Ed Barker
Succeeded by	Ross Tolleson
Personal details
Born	George Ervin Perdue III (1946-12-20) December 20, 1946 (age 77) Perry, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Republican (1998–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic (before 1998)
Spouse(s)	Mary Ruff ​ (m. 1972)​
Children	4
Relatives	David Perdue (cousin)
Education	University of Georgia (BS, DVM)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1971–1974
Rank	Captain

George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III^[1] (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician. He was the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from April 25, 2017 to January 20, 2021. He was the 81st Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. In January 2003, he became the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction. Perdue served on the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C..

On January 18, 2017, incoming U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be United States Secretary of Agriculture. His nomination was sent to the Senate on March 9, 2017.^[2] He was approved by the United States senate with a vote of 87-11 on April 24, 2017. He left office on January 20, 2021 when Joe Biden became president. In April 2022, he became the 14th Chancellor of the University System of Georgia.^[3]

Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia. He is the son of Ophie Viola (Holt), a teacher, and George Ervin Perdue Jr., a farmer.^[4][5] The Perdue family owned slaves in Georgia during the 19th century.^[6]

Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School. He studied at the University of Georgia.^[7]

In 1971, Perdue earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a small business owner, eventually starting three businesses.^[8]

Perdue served in the U.S. Air Force. He became a captain before leaving the military.

After working as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly.^[8] He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the Senator representing the 18th district.^[9]

Perdue was elected in 1991, 1994, and 1996. He was his party's leader in the Senate, from 1994 to 1997 and president pro tempore.^[10]

Perdue changed party from Democrat to Republican in 1998 and was re-elected to the Senate as a Republican. He also won re-election in 2000.

In December 2001, Perdue resigned as State Senator so he could run for the office of Governor. He won the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes, 51% to 46%, with Libertarian candidate Garrett Michael Hayes taking 2% of the vote.^[11] He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in over 130 years since Benjamin F. Conley.

As governor, Perdue led reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles and real estate. ^[source?] He helped Georgia moved up from last place in the country in SAT scores. Although it returned to last place in 2005,^[12] Georgia rose to 49th place in 2006 in the combined math and reading mean score, including the writing portion added to the test that year.^[13] Perdue also created additional opportunities for charter schools and private schools.^[14] In 2006, Perdue signed a law that gave Georgia "some of the nation's toughest measures against illegal immigration".^[15]

In 2006, Perdue was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election, winning nearly 58% of the vote. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot.^[16]

On November 13, 2007, while Georgia suffered from one of the worst droughts in several decades, Perdue led a group of several hundred people in a prayer on the steps of the state Capitol. Perdue spoke to the crowd, saying "We’ve come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: To very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm" and "God, we need you; we need rain".^[17]

On January 2, 2017, it was reported that Perdue had become President-elect Donald Trump's leading contender for the nomination to be Secretary of Agriculture in his incoming administration.^[18] On January 18, 2017, senior Trump transition officials announced that Perdue would be his nominee Secretary of Agriculture.^[19]

The Senate committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry approved his nomination on March 30, with a 19-1 vote. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) abstained, as he is the nominee's first cousin.

Perdue is the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South. The first was Mike Espy of Mississippi, who served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 to December 1994.

On April 24, 2017, Perdue's nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate with a 87-11 vote.^[20] He was sworn-in by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas the next day.^[21]

Perdue was chosen Designated survivor for the 2018 State of the Union Address.^[22]

Perdue and his wife, Mary (nee Ruff), were married in 1972 after dating for four years.^[23] They have four children (Leigh, Lara, Jim, and Dan),^[23] fourteen grandchildren (six boys and eight girls), and have also been foster parents for many children.^[24] Perdue lives in Bonaire, Georgia.^[25]

Media related to Sonny Perdue at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Governor Website
• Biography of Sonny Perdue Archived 2018-01-31 at the Wayback Machine at the National Governors Association website