30 November 2004
Ridge to Leave Department of Homeland Security
Outgoing secretary will remain in post until Senate confirms successor
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced his resignation on November 30, saying his service was "an extraordinary opportunity to serve my country."
Ridge took office as the first secretary of Homeland Security -- a Cabinet position created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States -- in January 2003. The department was formed by merging 22 separate agencies into one organization that coordinates efforts against terrorist threats or attacks in the United States and has about 180,000 employees.
"We've accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time," Ridge said during his resignation announcement, citing increased border and port-of-entry security and partnerships with state and local governments to stop terrorism as accomplishments of his tenure.
Ridge has said that he will remain in office through February 1, 2005, or until his replacement is named by the White House and confirmed by the Senate.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=November&x=20041130152936maduobbA0.1483881&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
