James G. Watt
| James G. Watt | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior | |
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In office January 23, 1981 – November 8, 1983 |
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| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Cecil D. Andrus |
| Succeeded by | William P. Clark |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Gaius Watt January 31, 1938 Lusk, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Leilani Bomgardner Watt (m. 1957 - present day) |
| Children | Erin Watt Eric Watt |
| Alma mater | University of Wyoming |
| Religion | Pentecostal, Born-again Christian |
James Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938) served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1981 to 1983. Often described as "anti-environmentalist", he was one of Ronald Reagan's most controversial cabinet appointments. Watt's pro-development views played an instrumental role in ending the Sagebrush Rebellion.
Watt was born in Lusk, Wyoming, the son of Lois Mae (née Williams) and William Gaius Watt. He attended the University of Wyoming, earning a bachelor's degree in 1960 and a juris doctor degree in 1962. Watt's first political job was as an aide to Republican Party Senator Milward L. Simpson of Wyoming, whom he met through Simpson's son, Alan.
A lifelong Republican, he served as Secretary to the Natural Resources Committee and Environmental Pollution Advisory Panel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business organization that supports primarily Republican candidates. In 1969, Watt was appointed the deputy assistant secretary of water and power development at the Department of the Interior. In 1975, Watt was appointed vice chairman of the Federal Power Commission. In 1977, Watt became the first president and chief legal officer of Mountain States Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm "dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government and economic freedom." A number of attorneys who worked for Watt at the firm later became high-ranking officers of the federal government, including Ann Veneman and Gale Norton.
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