Secretary of Transportation, White House Chief of Staff

Andrew H. Card, Jr.was born in Holbrook, Massachusetts, on May 10, 1947. He received his Bachelor of Sciences degree in engineering from the University of South Carolina in 1971, and also attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He worked as a structural design engineer from 1971 to 1975.

In 1975, Card was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and served in that body until 1983. In 1980 he helped form the Ward Commission, which investigated corruption in the construction of the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts. In 1982, he was named Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators Association, and received the Distinguished Legislator Award from the Massachusetts Municipal Association. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the governorship of Massachusetts in 1982.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan tapped Card to be his Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs, in which capacity he served until 1987. He then served as the New Hampshire primary campaign manager for George H.W. Bush, and, in 1989, became Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Chief of Staff under President Bush. He was named Secretary of Transportation in 1992, and served in that capacity until the end of the Bush administration.

While the Democrats held the White House, Card worked for the private sector. From 1993 to 1998, Card was president and CEO of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. He subsequently served as director of government affairs for General Motors Corporation, from 1999 to 2000.

Card returned to government service after George W. Bush was elected President in 2000, serving as Bush's Chief of Staff during the transition period. He then became Bush's first White House Chief of Staff, and served in that capacity until resigning on March 28, 2006. He has been retired from government since.

SEE ALSO
President Ronald Reagan
Secretary of Transportation

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This page was last updated on June 14, 2017.