Norman Mineta, who as federal transport secretary purchased business flights grounded after the 9/11 horror attacks in 2001, has passedaway
4 May 2022, 03: 50
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Norman Mineta, who broke racial barriers for Asian Americans serving in prominent federalgovernment posts and purchased industrial flights grounded after the 9/11 horror attacks as the country’s federal transportation secretary, passedaway Tuesday. He was 90.
John Flaherty, Mineta’s previous chief of personnel, stated Mineta passedaway inharmony at his house surrounded by household in Edgewater, Maryland, east of the country’s capital.
“His cause of death was a heart disorder,” Flaherty included. “He was an amazing public servant and a really dear pal.”
Mineta broke racial barriers for Asian Americans in endingupbeing mayor of San Jose, California early in his political profession. He lateron endedupbeing the veryfirst Asian American to endedupbeing a federal Cabinet secretary, serving under both Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush.
Bush went on to award Mineta the country’s greatest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a declaration, the previous president stated Mineta was “a terrific American story about somebody who conquered challenge and bias to serve in the United States Army, Congress, and the Cabinet of 2 Presidents.”
“As my Secretary of Transportation, he revealed terrific management in assisting avoid additional attacks on and after 9/11. As I stated when providing him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Norm hasactually offered his nation a lifetime of service, and he’s offered his fellow residents an example of management, dedication to task, and individual character,” the previous president stated.
The child of Japanese immigrants who invested 2 years of his youth at a World War II internment camp, Mineta started his political profession leading his hometown of San Jose priorto signingupwith the Clinton administration as commerce secretary and then crossing celebration lines to serve in Bush’s Cabinet.
As Bush’s transport secretary, Mineta led the department throughout the crisis of Sept. 11, 2001, as pirated industrial airliners barreled towards U.S. landmarks. After a 2nd aircraft crashed into the World Trade Center, Mineta bought the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all civilian airplane — more than 4,500 in flight at the time. It was the veryfirst such order offered in U.S. airtravel history.
Mineta was consequently charged with bringback self-confidence in air travel in the