Hazel R. O'Leary

Hazel Reid O’Leary is an American attorney, public servant, and academic administrator whose career has spanned law, energy policy, and higher education leadership. Born in 1937, she earned her undergraduate degree from Fisk University before completing a Juris Doctor at Rutgers Law School. After practicing as a prosecutor and serving in state government roles, O’Leary entered federal service during the Carter administration, where she held several positions within the newly established Department of Energy. In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated her to become the seventh United States Secretary of Energy; she was confirmed by the Senate and served until 1997, becoming the first woman and the first African American to hold that office. Following her cabinet tenure, O’Leary returned to academia as president of Fisk University from 2004 to 2013, overseeing significant institutional changes during a period of financial challenge.

Early life and career

Hazel Reid was born on May 17, 1937, in Newport News, Virginia. Her parents, both physicians, separated when she was an infant; her father and stepmother, teacher Mattie Pullman Reid, raised Hazel and her older sister primarily in the city’s East End neighborhood. She attended a segregated school system in Newport News for eight years before relocating with an aunt to Essex County, New Jersey, where she enrolled at Arts High School, an integrated institution.

In 1959, O’Leary earned a bachelor’s degree from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. After marrying Carl Rollins and having a son, she returned to education and obtained a Bachelor of Laws from Rutgers Law School in Newark in 1966. Her early legal career began as a prosecutor in New Jersey, where she handled organized crime cases. She later advanced to the position of assistant attorney general for the state.

In 1969, following a divorce, O’Leary moved to Washington, D.C., and joined Coopers & Lybrand, a consulting and accounting firm. During President Jimmy Carter’s administration, she was appointed to several roles within the Department of Energy as it was being created: assistant administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, general counsel of the Community Services Administration, and administrator of the Economic Regulatory Administration. It was in this environment that she met John F. O’Leary, who would later serve as Deputy Secretary of Energy; the couple married on April 24, 1980.

After Carter’s defeat in 1980, the O’Learys founded O’Leary & Associates in Morristown, New Jersey, where Hazel served as vice president and general counsel. Following her husband’s death from cancer in 1987, she relocated to Minnesota. From 1989 until 1993, she worked as executive vice president of Northern States Power Company, a public utility based in the state.

Cabinet tenure

President Bill Clinton announced his intention to nominate O’Leary as Secretary of Energy on December 21, 1992, at a press conference held in Little Rock, Arkansas. The formal nomination was made on January 20, 1993; the Senate confirmed her by unanimous consent the following day. At that time, the Department of Energy operated with an annual budget of approximately $18 billion and employed around 18,000 staff members.

O’Leary’s appointment marked a historic first: she became both the first woman and the first African American to serve as Secretary of Energy. She was also the first individual in that position who had previously worked for an energy company. During her tenure, she challenged the department’s traditional emphasis on nuclear weapons development and testing. The size of the agency was reduced by roughly one‑third, while resources were redirected toward efficient and renewable energy initiatives that aligned with broader administration priorities.

A significant aspect of O’Leary’s leadership involved increasing transparency regarding past government conduct. She authorized the declassification of Department of Energy documents that revealed the United States had conducted secret radiation experiments on unsuspecting American citizens during the Cold War. In response, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12891, establishing the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) to prevent future abuses. O’Leary also announced a settlement payment of $4.6 million to families affected by those historical experiments. Additional declassified records included information about plutonium left in South Vietnam.

O’Leary pursued efforts to end nuclear testing within the United States, culminating in President Clinton signing a test ban that was subsequently adopted by other nations. Early in her service, she met with whistle‑blowers who reported harassment for raising legitimate health and safety concerns at nuclear facilities; she instituted a zero‑tolerance policy against retaliation toward such individuals.

Her tenure also attracted criticism. The Department of Energy allocated $43,500 to a Washington firm tasked with identifying media outlets deemed unfriendly to the agency—a decision that drew condemnation from White House Press Secretary Michael D. McCurry as “unacceptable.” O’Leary maintained she had no direct knowledge of the allocation and defended it as an attempt to assess the effectiveness of the department’s messaging. A Government Accountability Office audit highlighted excessive travel expenditures, prompting her to apologize in 1996 for spending that exceeded the limits set by congressional appropriations for agency travel.

O’Leary resigned from the position effective January 20, 1997, stating she did not wish to remain in the role beyond that date.

Legacy

Hazel O’Leary’s service as Secretary of Energy left a multifaceted legacy. She broke gender and racial barriers by becoming the first woman and African American to occupy the department’s highest office, setting a precedent for future appointments. Her experience within the private energy sector informed her approach to agency management, leading to structural reforms that reduced departmental size while reallocating resources toward renewable energy research and development.

Her commitment to transparency resulted in the release of documents concerning past radiation experiments, prompting congressional action through Executive Order 12891 and the establishment of ACHRE. The settlement she negotiated for victims’ families further underscored her focus on accountability. Additionally, her advocacy contributed to the cessation of nuclear testing in the United States and influenced international agreements on test bans.

O’Leary’s tenure also highlighted challenges associated with public sector travel and media relations, prompting discussions about fiscal responsibility and communication strategies within federal agencies. While criticisms regarding travel expenditures and media research allocations were noted, they did not eclipse her broader contributions to energy policy reform and institutional transparency.

After leaving the cabinet, O’Leary returned to Fisk University as its 14th president (2004–2013), where she navigated financial difficulties, increased enrollment, and leveraged the university’s art collection for fundraising purposes. Her leadership during that period further demonstrated her capacity to manage complex organizations in both governmental and academic contexts.