DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

SECRETARIES

FORMER SECRETARIES

Secretary of Agriculture, May 17, 1994 to December 31, 1997, and March 10, 2003 to January 31, 2007. Acting Secretary of Agriculture, January 22 to March 10, 2003.

Member, County Council, Wicomico County, 1966-78 (president, four years; vice-president, four years).

Member, House of Delegates, 1979-87. Minority Whip, 1982-87. Member, Environmental Matters Committee; Ways and Means Committee.

Member, State Senate, 1987-92. Member, Finance Committee, 1987-89; Budget and Taxation Committee, 1990-92; Joint Committee on Investigation.

Lewis R. Riley, Secretary of Agriculture, February 2003. Photo by Richard Lippenholz.

Member, Board of Regents, University System of Maryland, 2003-07; Governor's Executive Council, 2003-07; Governor's Council on the Chesapeake Bay (Governor's Chesapeake Bay Cabinet), 2003-07; Governor's Subcabinet for International Affairs, 2003-07; Smart Growth Subcabinet, 2003-07; Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Board, 2003-07; Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, 2003-07; Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, 2003-07; State Children's Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council, 2003-07; Maryland Food Center Authority, 2003-07; Maryland Horse Industry Board, 2003-07; Mid-Atlantic Poultry Health Council, 2003-07; Governor's Pesticide Council, 2003; Pesticide Advisory Committee, 2003-07; Poultry Issues Action Team, 2003; Rural Legacy Board, 2003-07; Rural Maryland Council, 2003-07; Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission, 2003-07; Scenic and Wild Rivers Review Board, 2003-07; State Soil Conservation Committee, 2003-07. Co-Chair, Interagency Nutrient Reduction Oversight Committee, 2003-07. Board of Directors, Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation, 2004-07. Member, Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee, 2004-07. Chair, Renewable Fuels Incentive Board, 2005-07; Governor's Intergovernmental Commission for Agriculture, 2006-07. Member, Maryland Pandemic Influenza Coordinating Committee, 2006-07.

Born in Parsonsburg, Maryland, February 19, 1935. Graduate of Wicomico Senior High School. Farmer; poultryman; businessman. President, Maryland Association of Counties, 1973. Member (50 years) and past president, Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Department. Member, Wicomico County Farm Bureau. Former member, Advisory Board, First National Bank. President, Beaver Run Farms, Inc., a family farm corporation operated with his son, producing grain, swine, cattle, and poultry. Board of Directors, Delmarva Poultry Industry. Director, Farmers and Planters Company. Member, Building Fund Board, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, 2005-. Man of the Year, Maryland Grain Producers, 1996. Distinguished Citizen Award, Delmarva Poultry Industry, 1997. Friend of the Industry, Maryland Egg Council, 2003. Married; three children; five grandchildren; one great grandchild.

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