Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Elaine Duke's Appointment as Deputy Under Secretary for Management

Release Date: October 29, 2007

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

I’m extremely pleased to announce that I have named Elaine Duke as the Department of Homeland Security’s first Deputy Under Secretary for Management. Elaine will begin her new role by leading the day-to-day operations of the Management Directorate while Paul Schneider serves as the acting Deputy Secretary of the department.

Elaine has been a key player to this department since its inception in 2003 and brings a wealth of management knowledge and experience, with more than 25 years of federal service. She began her service to the department as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Transportation Security Administration. She served as the department's Deputy Chief Procurement Officer from October 2004 to January 2006, when she assumed duties as the Chief Procurement Officer.

As Deputy Under Secretary, Elaine can exercise all of the authority of the Under Secretary for Management. In this capacity she will manage our department’s budget, appropriations, expenditure of funds, procurement, human resources, information technology systems, and facilities and property management. Elaine’s leadership in this area is part of my strategy to ensure that the department continues to carry out its critical mission effectively through the change in administration and beyond.

Congratulations to Elaine. I look forward to working with her in her new and expanding role concerning the many facets of the department’s management needs. I know the success she has brought to the department so far will continue as she supports the department, Paul Schneider, and me.

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This page was last modified on October 29, 2007