Changes

}}

}}

'''James Richard "Rick" Perry''' (born March 4, 1950) is the 14th [[United States Secretary of Energy]], serving under Republican President [[Donald Trump]]. Previously, he served under a variety of positions, most notably as the [[Republican]] Governor of [[Texas]] from December 21, 2000, when he succeeded then-Governor [[George W. Bush]], until January 20, 2015. He was elected to full four-year terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010, when he easily won an unprecedented third full term after defeating—by a wide margin—U.S. Senator [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] in the GOP primary in March and then the [[Democratic]] former mayor of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], Bill White, in the general election.

'''James Richard "Rick" Perry''' (born March 4, 1950) is the 14th [[United States Secretary of Energy]], serving under Republican President [[Donald Trump]]. Previously, he served under a variety of positions, most notably as the [[Republican]] Governor of [[Texas]] from December 21, 2000, when he succeeded then-Governor [[George W. Bush]], until January 20, 2015. He was elected to full four-year terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010, when he easily won an unprecedented third full term after defeating—by a wide margin—U.S. Senator [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] in the GOP primary in March and then the [[Democratic]] former mayor of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], Bill White, in the general election.

==Career==

==Career==

Perry's brother-in-law, the brother of [[Anita Thigpen Perry]], is Joseph E. Thigpen (born ca. 1946), a former district attorney and county attorney in West Texas. In 1994, Perry, reelected as the agriculture commissioner, asked incoming Republican Governor [[George W. Bush]] to name Joseph Thigpen to a vacancy on the state appeals court in Eastland County, Texas. Acting on a check into Thigpen's record by political advisor [[Karl Rove]], Bush declined to appoint Thigpen to the bench. As a county attorney, Thigpen had been criticized for not being available when the commissioner's court needed his counsel. In 1998, Rick Perry became lieutenant governor in the second George W. Bush gubernatorial term. The Thigpen appointment controversy has been mentioned as a possible cause of a potential breach between Governors Bush and Perry.<ref>Will Weissert, "Perry-Bush camps still feel old dispute", ''Laredo Morning Times'', September 19, 2011, p. 8A</ref>

Perry's brother-in-law, the brother of [[Anita Thigpen Perry]], is Joseph E. Thigpen (born ca. 1946), a former district attorney and county attorney in West Texas. In 1994, Perry, reelected as the agriculture commissioner, asked incoming Republican Governor [[George W. Bush]] to name Joseph Thigpen to a vacancy on the state appeals court in Eastland County, Texas. Acting on a check into Thigpen's record by political advisor [[Karl Rove]], Bush declined to appoint Thigpen to the bench. As a county attorney, Thigpen had been criticized for not being available when the commissioner's court needed his counsel. In 1998, Rick Perry became lieutenant governor in the second George W. Bush gubernatorial term. The Thigpen appointment controversy has been mentioned as a possible cause of a potential breach between Governors Bush and Perry.<ref>Will Weissert, "Perry-Bush camps still feel old dispute", ''Laredo Morning Times'', September 19, 2011, p. 8A</ref>

==Controversies==

==Controversies==

==External links==

==External links==

*[https://rickperry.org Rick Perry 2016 campaign website]

*[https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_texas/col2-content/main-content-list/rick-perry.default.html Profile] on the ''National Governors Association''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Rick}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Rick}}